H. Robert "Bob" Blanding

Bolton — H. Robert “Bob” Blanding, 70, died suddenly at his home in Bolton, Massachusetts on Wednesday, October 18, 2017.

He leaves his wife of 47 years, Ann (Morel) Blanding; his daughter, Melissa Blanding and her partner Sara Granville; his son, Michael Blanding and his partner Rebecca Uchill; his son, Kevin Blanding and his wife Janel Blanding; five grandchildren, and his brother, Thomas Blanding.  He is preceded in death by his brother Stephen Blanding.

Born and raised in Grafton, the son of H. Robert, Sr. and Georgina (Smail) Blanding, he has lived the last 40 years in Bolton.

He graduated from Grafton High School and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. He met his wife, Ann Morel, while working as a computer engineer at Honeywell, marrying in 1970. He also worked for Intel and EMC, before starting his own company, Technical Applications Associates (TA2) in 1985, designing custom computer solutions for corporate clients for 28 years.

Bob was an avid gardener, master chef, and trivia champion, who enjoyed epic drives in northern New England, vacations with his wife in Hawaii, and cross-country driving trips to Hell’s Canyon, Idaho (where he braved the infamous Kleinschmidt Grade). He loved entertaining at family gatherings and eagerly looked forward each year to fall trips to Davis Mega Maze and Father’s Day outings with his children to Old Sturbridge Village.

A funeral service will be held on Monday, Oct. 23rd beginning at 10am at Tighe-Hamilton Regional Funeral Home, 50 Central St, Hudson followed by a procession to St. Michael’s Cemetery.  Calling hours are 3pm-6pm on Sunday Oct. 22nd at the Tighe-Hamilton Funeral Home.