Robert A Guyette

Robert A. "Bob" Guyette, formerly of Rotterdam, passed away peacefully on the morning of July 17, at Kingsway Arms Nursing Home in Schenectady. He was born August 2, 1920 in St. Regis Falls, the first child of the late Arthur J. and Louise (Compo) Guyette living his early years in Dickinson Center. At a young age, he moved with his family to Rotterdam. During the Depression they moved to a farm near Altamont, where he attended a one-room schoolhouse on Settles Hill. His responsibilities there included shoveling snow and stoking the wood stove before school started. His family left the farm and moved to Front Street in the Stockade area. He attended Draper schools and graduated from Nott Terrace High School in 1938. He then began his career with the General Electric Company, proudly working his way up to shift foreman and management, retiring in 1983 as a unit product manager in the Power Tube Department. Between 1944-46, he served his country in the United States Navy in the South Pacific on the USS Bonefish before being transferred to the submarine tender, USS Orion as a machinist mate. On April 19, 1942 Robert and Virginia H. Cegelski, married in St. John the Evangelist Church in Schenectady and then attended St. John the Baptist Church while raising their family. A devoted husband and family man, they lived for nearly 70 years in the home that he built. Virginia predeceased him in 2016, a few weeks after celebrating their 74th wedding anniversary. Family and friends are welcome to call from 6 to 8 pm, Friday, August 3, 2018 at Bond Funeral Home, 1614 Guilderland Ave., Schenectady. A Funeral Service will take place following the visitation at 11 am, Saturday, August 4, at the funeral home with Rev. Richard Carlino officiating. Rite of Committal will follow in Viewland Cemetery, where he will be laid to rest next to his wife. A post funeral reception will follow the interment at the Cobblestone Church hall. He was a member of the Rotterdam Elks Club, and for many years he was very active in the Schonowe Volunteer Fire Company where he served several terms as Fire Commissioner. He enjoyed working on his home, car, tractor and wood lot. He became the family patriarch, and especially enjoyed visiting with family, friends and neighbors. He and his late wife, Virginia, were accomplished ballroom dancers, and they enjoyed many winters in Florida. In recent years, Robert continued to take trips to Maine and CT enjoying time with his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Besides his parents and his wife, he was predeceased by siblings, Betty Guyette, Marion Ausfeld, and Arthur Guyette, Jr. He is survived by his sisters Evelyn Hesler of Charlton, and Jean McNeil of Schenectady; children: Donna Farquhar (David) of Norwich, NY, Gary Guyette (Dale) of St. Michaels, MD, and Amie Hall (William) of Fairfield, CT; seven grandchildren: Sara Voorhees (Christopher), Polly Kieffer (Robert), Elizabeth Farquhar (Kristofer Rose), Kendall Scott (Thomas), Lacey Cote (Zac), William R. Hall III, and Robert Weston Hall, and seven great-grandchildren: Anna, Nora, Brogan, Quinn, Robert, Wesley and Violet and many nieces, nephews and cousins. Robert's family would like to express their deep gratitude to the aides of HomeInstead Senior Care, his Brookdale of Niskayuna family, and staffs at Ellis Hospital, Kingsway Arms Nursing Center and The Community Hospice for their care and compassion. Expressions of sympathy may take the form of donations in Robert's memory to the City Mission of Schenectady, PO Box 760, Schenectady, NY 12301-0760 or to a charity of your choice.