Enjoyed a good joke, gardening, playing the trombone, auto racing and the Celtics
NORTH READING — Robert M. Lorton, 88, of North Reading, passed away peacefully on Friday, August 23, 2024, at the Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers following a prolonged illness. He was born on March 27, 1936, in North Conway, N.H., to the late Archie and Alice (Murray) Lorton.
Bob’s early years were spent in Maine before the family moved to Lawrence, Indiana. They later returned to Lovell, Maine, where Bob graduated from Fryeburg Academy, class of 1954. While completing the General Electric Apprenticeship Program in Lynn, Mass., Bob met and married Margaret DeAngelis. The couple settled in North Reading, where they raised their family.
Bob dedicated many years of his career as a manufacturing engineer at the Compugraphic Corporation in Wilmington. He had been a North Reading resident for 65 years and was a long-time member of Trinity Evangelical Church.
Known for his good humor, quick wit, and love of sharing jokes, Bob enjoyed gardening, playing the trombone in community bands, watching and attending auto races, and cheering on the Celtics.
He is survived by his loving wife of 67 years, Margaret C. (DeAngelis) Lorton; his son, Robert L. Lorton and his wife Joyce of North Reading; his daughter, Cynthia Baker and her partner Charles McCoy of Kokomo, Indiana; his sister, Mary Wilson of Cumberland, Maine; two grandchildren, Matthew Lorton and his wife Danielle Navish of Boynton Beach, Florida, and Jessie Dang and her husband Anuj Dang of Nashville, Tennessee; and two great-grandchildren, Henry Lorton and Vera Dang. He is also survived by several nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held at Trinity Evangelical Church, 105 Haverhill Street, North Reading, on Saturday, September 21 at 2 p.m. There will be no calling hours. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Bob’s memory to Care Dimensions at caredimensions.org or the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research at michaeljfox.org.
Arrangements are under the direction of Croswell Funeral Home, 19 Bow Street, North Reading. For more information or to leave an online message of condolence, please visit www.croswellfuneralhome.com.
