ALTON - Robert Eliot Shapleigh ('Shap'), of Alton, died peacefully on the evening of Aug. 28, 2019, with family by his side.
Robert grew up in Eliot, Maine, graduating from Eliot High School in 1955. He served six months in the Army reserves. He then worked as a bricklayer for E.A. Ricci Construction in Portsmouth, N.H. He was also a volunteer firefighter for the town of Eliot.
In 1962, he married Sheila Ann Robinson, and together they shared 57 years of marriage.
Many will remember him as the owner and operator of the Edgewood Restaurant in Alton from the mid-70s to mid-80s. During the winter months, he worked at Pease Air Force Base in maintenance and clearing the runways for air traffic. Before that he owned and operated The Country Store in Lebanon, Maine. After retiring from business, he continued to work at Pease Air Force Base until it's closure in 1990. He later retired from the Oyster River School District where he worked as a custodian.
He was proud to be a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and the Shriners. He was raised on Nov. 17, 1965, in his home lodge, Naval Lodge No. 184, in Kittery, Maine. He became a Shriner in April of 1967, belonging to both the Kora and Bektash Temples. He was actively involved in the Bektash Mini-Kar Patrol, participating in numerous parades over the years to raise money for the Shriners Hospital for Children.
He was predeceased by his parents, George E. Shapleigh and Eunice C. (Cole), and his sister Christine (Shapleigh) Bilodeau.
Loved ones he leaves behind include his wife, Sheila A. (Robinson) Shapleigh; his brother Richard W. Shapleigh, Sr.; his three daughters, Leslie Jackson, Jennifer Shapleigh, and Cydney Shapleigh; his grandchildren Jonathan Douglas and his wife Ashley, Caitlin Wentworth and her partner Ryan, Andrew Jackson, Timothy Douglas, and Matthew Johnson; his great-grandchildren Harley Hook, Austin Douglas, and Brandon Douglas; his many nieces and nephews; along with his many friends.