Robert Boren Was Active in Island Fishing Derby

Robert Boren died on Tuesday, Sept. 10, after a brief illness. He was known to many Islanders for the years he worked on the fall fishing derby and for the smiles and kind words he always had for people in the coffee shops and on the street.

He was born in 1917 in Waxahachie, Tex. After graduating from high school in Fort Worth, he enlisted in the Coast Guard, which sent him to the Vineyard. In 1942 he met Marion Smith, a young school teacher from New Haven, Conn., who was working summers as head waitress at the Harborside Inn in Edgartown to supplement her income. They were married on June 19, 1943 and settled in Vineyard Haven to raise a family.

After he was discharged from the Coat Guard, Mr. Boren bacame a lineman for the Cape and Vineyard Electric Company; he retired from Commonwealth Electric in 1978.

An avid fisherman, he participated in the derby every year and in 1980 became an active member of the derby committee. Many people will remember him sitting at the foot of Circuit avenue with the derby's grand prize, a Jeep, selling chances and bringing smiles to the faces of all whom he encountered.

He leaves a son, Bruce R. Boren of Vineyard Haven, and a daughter and son in law, Ann E. and Duncan Ross of Oak Bluffs.

There will be a graveside service at the Oak Grove Cemetery in Tisbury at noon on Saturday, Sept. 14. Donation in Mr. Boren's memory made be made to the Visiting Nurse Service of Martha's Vineyard Community Services Inc.