W. Robert (Bob) Fowler, Ordained Deacon & Elder With Methodist Church

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FRAMINGHAM – W. Robert (Bob) Fowler of Framingham passed peacefully at home on December 9 2020. 

He was born in Methuen, MA on January 19, 1932 the son of James William and Mary Ellen (McFadden) Fowler.

Bob is survived by his loving wife of 65 years, Ruth May (Allen) Fowler of Framingham. Devoted father of Mark A. Fowler and his wife Susan of Madison, WI and Martha J. Puchulu and her husband Michel of Framingham. Cherished grandfather of Benjamin, Carmen, Gabriel and Moriah (1990-2010).

Bob has been a resident of Framingham for the past 15 years.

He graduated from Lawrence High School with the class of 1949 and earned his BA in English Literature from DePauw University in Greencastle, IN.

In preparation for a career in ministry he earned a Master of Divinity at Boston University School of Theology.

He was ordained a Deacon in the Methodist Church in 1955, the same year he and Ruth were married.

He was ordained an Elder in the New England Southern Conference of The Methodist Church in 1958, the same day he received his Master of Divinity.

Bob served churches in Fall River, MA; Brockton, MA; Pioneer, OH; Lima, OH; Springfield, OH; Westerly, RI; Lynn, MA; Winthrop, MA; Salem, MA; Mystic, CT; Newton, IA and Glidden, IA.

For 5 years between his Westerly appointment and his Lynn appointment, Bob took a sabbatical to get his Master of Arts in History at Boston University and worked on his PhD in History at American University in Washington, D.C. During those 5 years he taught at Framingham State College and American University.

Bob retired from the ministry in 1994 and opened a used bookstore, Bob’s Books, in Des Moines, IA that he and Ruth operated for 8 years before moving back east to New Hampshire. Bob’s Books opened in Portsmouth, NH and operated for 13 years.

Bob and Ruth then fully retired and moved to Framingham to be closer to family. Bob was a devoted and loving husband, father and grandfather to his family.

Due to the social restraints of the Covid pandemic plans for a reception and committal will be at a future date.  

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Norton Funeral Home, 53 Beech Street in Framingham.

In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy in his memory may be made to the American Parkinson Disease Assoc. Massachusetts Chapter, 72 East Concord Street, Room C3, Boston, MA 02118 or the American Diabetes Assoc., 260 Cochituate Rd #200, Framingham, MA 01701.