Barkhamsted Hollow Resident, Robert Delos Hart, Passed Away

Robert Delos Hart, 92, the only child of the late Delos Orsman Hart and Mabel Church Hart of Canton and Barkhamsted, died Sunday, August 24 at Avery Heights in Hartford with family at his side after a brief struggle with complications from recent surgery.

Born in Winsted on May 5, 1922, Bob lived in Barkhamsted Hollow until 1932 when his family moved to what became known as Harts’ Corner in Canton. According to the Barkhamsted Historical Society, Bob may have been the last surviving resident of the Hollow where his family lived from 1789 until they were forced to move because of the building of the Barkhamsted Reservoir. He soon met Ruth Viering, with whom he attended Canton Public High School and whom he married on April 1, 1944. At the age of 16, he became a ham radio operator; his call letters were W1MGW. Bob remained in Canton until 1988 when he and Ruth moved to Avon and then to Avery Heights in Hartford in 2013. He was a graduate of the University of Connecticut and served briefly in the Navy at the end of World War II. After the war, he worked as an electronics and bio-medical engineer for several companies in CT and MA.

While in Canton, he served on several local boards, including the Canton Board of Education, the Board of Finance, the Canton Library Board, and the Friends of the Canton Public Library. As chairman of the Board of Education in the 1950s, he led an early attempt to enact a merit pay system for teachers in Canton. In addition, Bob was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Collinsville Savings Society. In retirement, he began a new career as a real estate appraiser. In his leisure time, he was an accomplished photographer, avid fisherman and bow hunter, builder of line-controlled model airplanes, and repairer of pocket watches among many avocations. He was happiest spending vacations and long weekends at the family cabin on Lake Willoughby in Westmore, VT.

In addition to his wife of 70 years, Bob leaves his son Thomas and wife Daria of New Hartford; son John and wife Kathy of Springfield, VT; son-in-law Jared Bahre and wife Betsy of Avon; four grandchildren – Rebecca and her wife Molly, Rachel, Julie and her husband Daniel, and Richard; and great grandchild Rowan. Bob was predeceased by his daughter, Susan Bahre. The family is profoundly grateful to the staff of Noble One and Station 3 at Avery Heights and the Hartford VNA Hospice for their kind and professional care and support during Bob’s illness.

Bob was buried Friday, August 29 at Dyer Cemetery in Canton. There will be a memorial service for family and friends on Saturday, September 13 at 2 pm in the chapel at Avery Heights, 705 New Britain Ave., Hartford, CT.

Memorial donations may be sent to The Friends of the Canton Public Library at FCPL, Inc. P.O. Box 136 Canton, CT 06019.

Obituary provided by Tom Hart via Facebook