Robert L. Mason

South Portland - Robert Leach Mason, after a period of declining health, passed on peacefully in the early hours of Feb 2, 2026 at the Fallbrook Commons Nursing Home in Portland, ME. Robert was born on 9 Jun 1935, in Conway, N.H., to James Clayton and Cora (Leach) Mason. His childhood was spent entirely in the village of Redstone, attending local schools and graduating from Kennett High School in 1953. He continued his education at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, graduating with a Chemical Engineering B.S. in 1957. He began his professional career working on weapons material for DuPont at the Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina. In the early 1960s he took employment focused on fuels with NASA at Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Thence to the NASA Electronics Research Center in Cambridge, MA. When NASA closed the Cambridge facility in 1970, he was retained by the Federal Government at the National Transportation System Research Center. He spent the balance of his career there, with a strong focus on noise abatement, retiring in the mid-1990s. In retirement, he split his time between seasonal residences in South Portland and Clearwater, Florida. In more recent years, he remained in South Portland year round He was very attached to his pets, including several cats and, in recent years, Yorkshire Terriers, especially his beloved Sunshine. He was predeceased by his parents and first wife, Dorothy Arris. He is survived by his wife of 57 Years, Marguerite (Bouchard) Mason of South Portland. Son James and partner Patricia Harding of Nashua, NH; Grandsons Tristan, of Lawton, OK; Spenser and his wife Lauren Morel of Spencer, NC; and a Great Grandson, William, also of Spencer, NC. Interment will be held at the North Conway Cemetery in North Conway, N.H., on May 16, at 11A. Furber and White of North Conway, N.H. are charged with arrangements.