The Obit

Taken from the Worcester Telegram & Gazette:

Robert M. "Bob" Defino
Robert M. "Bob" Defino, 70, of 21 Farmington Drive, Shrewsbury, died Thursday, January 25th surrounded by his loving family in UMass Memorial Medical Center-Memorial Campus of complications from Chronic Leukocytic Lymphoma, a disease he lived with for 24 years. He leaves his loving wife and best friend of 50 years, Judith A. (Towns) Defino; four daughters, Margaret M. Dell'Olio of Shrewsbury, Elizabeth A. McMullan of Houston, Texas, Katy A. Couture of Grafton and Diane M. Rutigliano of Shrewsbury; his step-mother, Agnes B. (Lynch) Defino of Shrewsbury and ten grandchildren, Brendan, Keegan, Claire, P.J., Carissa, Emma, Derric, Nicholas, Michael and Matthew. He was predeceased by his brother Francis. Bob was born and raised in Shrewsbury, son of the late Frank E. and Dorothy (Frost) Defino and graduated from Shrewsbury High School where he was an all around athlete. He was one of the first athletes to be inducted in the Shrewsbury Hall of Fame. He continued his education and passion for sports at the College of the Holy Cross where he graduated with the class of 1959 and was an outstanding baseball and football player. Mr. Defino was an executive at the Ford Motor Company for 37 years before he retired in 1999. While he held his position at Ford, he and his family had lived in the mid -west for 20 years before returning back east to Massachusetts 22 years ago. He was a member of Saint Mary's Parish, the Shrewsbury High School Alumni Association and the Knights of Columbus Adelphi Council # 4181 all in Shrewsbury. Bob was also a proud member of the Varsity Club at Holy Cross College. The Defino family wishes to thank all the doctors, nurses and medical staff at the Levine Cancer Center and UMass Memorial Medical Center-Memorial Campus for all their compassionate care and concern for Bob and his family for the past eight years. Relatives and friends are invited to visit with Bob's family on Tuesday, January 30th from 5-8 P.M. in the Britton-Shrewsbury Funeral Home, 648 Main Street, Shrewsbury. The members of the Knights of Columbus Adelphi Council #4181 will conduct their ritual at 6:00 PM. His funeral Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday January 31st at 10 AM in Saint Mary's Church, 640 Main Street, Shrewsbury. Burial will take place in Mountain View Cemetery, Shrewsbury. Memorial contributions in Bob's memory can be made to The Robert M. Defino Class of 1955 Memorial Scholarship, c/o The Alumni Association, 100 Maple Avenue, Shrewsbury, MA 01545. For directions and Bob's online memorial guestbook, please visit brittonfuneralhomes.com