A funeral for Chief Petty Officer Robert E. Williamson Sr., USN-ret., 88, of Noank, Connecticut, was held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 6 in Noank Baptist Church. He died March 28, 2019.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 50 years, Sadie Jeraldine (Weston) Williamson, a native of Mathews County, and his parents, Eleazar and Alverta White Williamson, 

Survivors include one son, Robert E. Williamson Jr.; four daughters, Valerie Peckingham, Dolores Jones, Patricia Burrell and Marilyn Taylor; 12 grandchildren and one great-grandson. 

He retired as a Chief Yeoman, U.S. Navy, in 1975 after serving 24 years. He ended his Naval career teaching Sub School, but he also spent 17 years underwater in submarines, including a stint with the USS Skate (SSN-578).  

He began his second full-time career at Electric Boat, a division of General Dynamics Groton, where he worked as a senior engineer assistant. He earned an associate degree in Data Management from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1984. After retiring from E.B. in 1988, he drove the school bus.

He was a member of Noank Baptist Church where he served as property manager and a lay reader, and was active in Masonry starting as a member of Jeptha Lodge in 1957. 

Interment followed at Noank Valley Cemetery with full military honors.

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