Robert H. Duddy

Scarborough - Robert Henry Duddy, 91, died peacefully on January 22, 2017 at the Maine Veterans Home in Scarborough after a long decline. His illness impaired his faculties but never dimmed his personality. He was born July 28, 1925 in Bangor, Maine the third child of Bernard and Flora Duddy. Bob graduated from John Bapst High School in Bangor in 1947. His high school career was interrupted by his service as a United States Navy submariner in the Pacific theater from early 1943 until 1946. He served on three submarines during the war, the USS O6, the USS Bergall and the USS Sargo. By the end of the war he had been awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Medal, the Victory Medal, Philippines Liberty Medal as well as the Submarine Combat Insignia. His war-time service was one of the seminal experiences of his life and the loss of many friends in that great conflict forever informed his thinking about the price of the freedom and opportunities Americans continue to enjoy. Following the end of the war in the Pacific, Bob, returned to Bangor to finish high school and later attended the University of Maine in Orono where he was president of the freshman class and played both freshman and varsity football. In September of 1949, Bob married Cecilia Regina Pyzynski, also of Bangor where they settled and started their family. In the early fifties Bob worked for the AP as a management trainee. Subsequently, he owned and operated a neighborhood grocery on Pearl Street. With the arrival of large supermarket chains in the Bangor area in the late fifties, he shifted to a business in which the family had been active for many years and began work as a builder and electrical contractor. In 1974 when it was clear that his sons would not follow him into the construction business, he accepted a permanent position with U.S. Customs and moved to Calais, Maine where he lived until 1986. After Calais, he returned to Bangor with the Customs Service and retired in 1996. Bob and Cecilia continued to live in Bangor until moving to Portland in early 2011. A lifelong reader, especially of U.S. history, in the 1960s he enlisted in the Naval Reserve in Bangor where he taught a course in Naval History. His reserve service also permitted him to take two final submarine cruises. Bob was an avid outdoorsmen, loved his camp on Jacob Bucks Pond and for years delighted in introducing his children, grandchildren and extended family members to the joys of the Maine Woods. He is survived by his deeply cherished wife of 67 years, Cecilia, and their four children and their spouses: Patrick and Mary Duddy of Durham, North Carolina; Robert Terry and Kathleen Duddy of Falmouth, Maine; Christina and Patrick Barrett of Boston, Massachusetts; and Michael and Jennifer Duddy of Cape Elizabeth, Maine. He had six grandchildren: Patrick and Marys children Sarah Duddy Centrich of Houston ,Texas and Robert of Denver, Colorado; Terry and Kathleens children Matthew of Boston, Massachusetts and Rachael of New York City; Michael and Jennifers sons Samuel and Benjamin of Cape Elizabeth. He also had a great grandchild, Sarahs son Alexander of Houston. He is also survived by five of his nine brothers and sisters. Visiting Hours will be held from 4-6PM on Thursday, January 26 at the Conroy-Tully Walker South Portland Chapel, 1024 Broadway, South Portland. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11AM on Friday, January 27 at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church, 8 Two Lights Road, Cape Elizabeth followed by a reception at a local restaurant to be announced. Private burial will be held at a later date at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Bangor. To view Bobs memorial page or to share an online condolence, please visit www.ConroyTullyWalker.com. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to any Veterans charity.