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Robert G. Day Portsmouth, RI QCWA # 26401 |
First Call: W0HFW Other Calls: W2ZKO N1HXU KD1CL
Robert Grinnell Day PORTSMOUTH
Robert Grinnell Day, 94, passed away on Sunday, April 22, 2018. Father of five, grandfather of seven, and great-grandfather of five; boat builder, sailor, and ham radio operator, Day was born February 6, 1924, to John Warren and Harriett (Lanning) Day in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
He was raised in Topeka, Kansas, where his father was Dean of Grace Episcopal Cathedral. He attended Antioch College and earned his BS and MS in Electrical Engineering at the University of Kansas.
After his marriage to Rosemary Trelease in September 1947, the couple moved to upstate New York where Day worked in the development of color television at General Electric.
In 1963, he moved to Aquidneck Island, where he worked for Raytheon as General Manager of Ocean Systems and Engineering. Having developed a passion for sailing and building early in life, he pursued both avidly in retirement, when he founded North Island Marine, a boatbuilding company in Portsmouth.
Throughout his life he built more than 35 vessels, from ultra light canoes and welded-steel workboats to kayaks and cruising sailboats, many of his own design. He was a longtime member of Ida Lewis Yacht Club, Newport County Ham Radio Club, and Sail Newport and a volunteer at the Newport Museum of Yachting.
Preceded in death by his wife, he is survived by his brother, John Warren Day Jr; his sister Mary Day Stutz; and his 5 children: Barbara Noel Day of Hinnerup, Denmark; Judith Walker Day of Bowdoin, Maine; Jean Trelease Day of Berkeley, California; Michael Joseph Day of DeKalb, Illinois; and Susan Virginia Day of Stow, Massachusetts, as well as 7 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.
The family sincerely thanks the staff at Newport Hospital for their deft support and care.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Newport Hospital, https://www.newporthospital.org/Giving-to-Newport-Hospital.
A celebration of Robert's life will be scheduled for a later date.
Arrangements are by the O'Neill-Hayes Funeral Home. For more information and online condolences, please visit www.oneillhayes.com
Published in The Providence Journal on Apr. 26, 2018