Robert J. Gonyea, M.D., age 91, peacefully passed away surrounded by his loving family on May 6, 2025 at his home in Walpole. He was born in Minneapolis, Minn. in 1934 and graduated from the University of Minnesota. He received his M.D. degree from the Yale University School of Medicine in 1959, followed by graduate studies in surgery and medicine at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, and the Lahey Clinic, Boston. He practiced general internal medicine for nearly 45 years in Hingham, Mass. and Damariscotta and was a member of The American College of Physicians.
He was married to his beloved wife, Lorraine, for 64 years, whom he met in Baltimore. He is survived by his wife, Lorraine; and two daughters: Karen McInnis and husband, Michael, of Hingham, Mass., and Lisa Ouellette and husband, Thomas, of Bangor; and six grandchildren: Derek, Ryan, and Gregory McInnis, of Hingham, Mass., and Claire, Aimee, and Jeffrey Ouellette, of Bangor.
Known affectionately as Dr. Bob, his lifelong obsessions were classical music, especially the music of Bach, Brahms, and Mahler; classical theatre and the plays of Shakespeare; classical literature and history.
Dr. Bob was a compassionate, beloved physician and an outdoorsman who engaged in wilderness canoeing and camping, alpine and cross-country skiing, hiking the mountains of New Hampshire and Maine, and kayaking the Maine coast, with extended wilderness trips to Alaska, Labrador, and the mountains of western Canada. Dr. Bob’s grandchildren and grandnephew shared in some camping and canoeing adventures he arranged for them and attended theatrical performances with him at The Theater at Monmouth.
Dr. Bob wished to remind his family, friends, and community members of these wise words, which he embodied heart and soul:
“…in Wildness is the preservation of the world”
(from Henry David Thoreau’s essay “Walking” published in 1862)
and
“Write me as one who loves his fellow-men”
(from “Abou Ben Adhem,” a poem written in 1834 by the English critic, essayist, and poet Leigh Hunt)
A funeral mass will be held at 10 a.m., on Friday, May 16, 2025 at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Newcastle. He will be laid to rest privately following the service.
Arrangements are under the direction and care of the Strong-Hancock Funeral Home, 612 Main St., Damariscotta, ME 04543. Condolences and messages for his family may be expressed by visiting stronghancock.com.