Robert Dean Hallgren, Sr.

December 18, 1939 - November 11, 2022

Middleboro, MA: Robert Dean Hallgren, Sr. passed away after a long illness and surrounded by loved ones on November 11. He was 82.

Bob was born in Brentwood, NH and grew up in several Southeastern Massachusetts towns including Middleboro, where he lived for more than 70 years. He graduated from Middleboro High School and received an Associate Degree in Liberal Arts at Massasoit College and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology/Sociology from Bridgewater State College. Bob had many jobs throughout his life including taxi driver, bartender, and land surveyor, but he spent most of his career with the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health (DMH), where he worked for 36 years before retiring in 2015. Bob served as a Director of Training, Fire Safety, and Quality Improvement and as an Officer of Safety and Human Rights, but it was as an Investigator for DMH that Bob found his special calling, using his tenacity and integrity to advocate for the Commonwealth's most vulnerable residents. In 1991, Bob was recognized by the Congressional Fire Services Institute in Washington, DC for "Outstanding Contributions Promoting Fire Safety Awareness in Massachusetts."

When Bob was 14, he was diagnosed with juvenile bone cancer, which led to his left arm being amputated at the elbow. Throughout his life, Bob set an example for everyone who knew him by not only excelling at an array of skills including woodworking and carpentry but also mastering tasks such as threading a needle that can befuddle those with two hands. He had a distinctive sense of style and was rarely seen without a hat—be it a fedora, a Panama Jack, or a beret. Bob approached life with optimism and curiosity and took care in everything he did. He loved puzzles of any kind and worked tirelessly until he solved them. Bob won at almost every game he played—from pool to Scrabble to his beloved cribbage. He had a wicked sense of humor and delighted in giving and receiving good-natured teasing. He was a prolific reader and enjoyed music and movies—especially Monty Python and Mel Brooks. Bob was easy with children of all ages and passed on to his family the treasured tradition of writing clues on Christmas gifts. He loved long talks, took hours to run simple errands, and made a delicious piña colada. Among Bob's many qualities, patience and humility were perhaps his greatest.

Bob is survived by his wife and partner of 42 years, Jill Hallgren, of Middleboro; his children, Dawn McSherry and her significant other, Rick Litif, of Plymouth; Denise Petronelli and her husband, David, of Middleboro; Scott Hallgren and his wife, Larissa, of Middleboro; and Sherri Hallgren of Raynham. His son Robert Dean Hallgren, Jr. predeceased him in 1988. Bob also leaves stepchildren Tina Vaz and her husband, Peter, of Brooklyn, NY; Michael Murphy and his wife, Kristine Daniels, of Foxboro; and Kristi Jewell and her husband, Adam, of Southboro. Bob is additionally survived by grandchildren Amanda Coelho, Corey Hallgren-DeGrace, Ariel Hallgren, Alexandria DeGrace, Joseph DeGrace, Zachary Hallgren, Maddison DeGrace, and Greysen, Lyla and Lynden Jewell; great-grandchildren Anthony Coelho and Ella and Jordan Hallgren; his brother Kenneth Hallgren of Hollywood, Florida; and several nieces and nephews.

Services for Bob will be held Friday, November 18 at 11am at Russell & Pica Funeral Home in Lakeville, followed by burial at Nemasket Cemetery in Middleboro. Bob's family also encourages friends to remember him by losing themselves in a good mystery, offering help to someone in need, or gazing at a crescent moon. Donations in his memory may be made to the Dr. Ruth McLain Hospice Home in Braintree, where Bob was cared for with grace and dignity in his final days.