Malcolm Robertson
Groton — Malcolm J. Robertson, 92, of Mumford Cove, Groton, passed away comfortably at home on Friday, April 6, 2018.
He was born in Springfield, Mass., on May 22, 1925, the son of Malcolm and Margaret (Simpson) Robertson. He was married to Margaret Dono in 1970. Margaret passed away on Oct. 13, 2013.
The family wishes to express special thanks to Alex (Abdurazak Saydaliev), who acted as Malcolm’s caregiver for the last four years, serving as chauffeur, chef, housekeeper, nurse and true friend.
Malcolm Sr. introduced his son to boats at an early age, a passion that stayed with him for a lifetime. Together they built Malcolm’s first boat, a 12-foot sailing pram from drawings in Popular Mechanics magazine. From that first boat followed a lifetime of boat designing, building, buying and trading.
After graduating from Springfield Technical School Malcolm immediately enlisted in the U.S. Navy where he served first as a small craft instructor before being sent to the South Pacific where he operated landing craft for the duration of the war.
After the war, Malcolm worked as a freelance electrician to support his passion for building and operating power boats. As a side business, he purchased Chris Craft speed boats and offered rides and charters in Springfield and later in Old Saybrook. One of his partners in this venture, Edward Pease, provided the client base with seaplane rides. Malcolm and Ed would fly the seaplane from Springfield to Old Saybrook after work on Fridays and so began the weekend charter business.
When the Franklin G. Post & Son Shipyard in Mystic became available in the mid-1950s, Malcolm and Ed raised the money and bought the yard, renaming it Seaport Marine Inc., and operated it successfully until 2004.
Through Seaport Marine, Malcolm and Marge enjoyed a thriving business, a wide range of friendships and an outlet for Malcolm’s passion for boats. A better life he could not have imagined growing up in land-locked Springfield. But he made it happen.
A private service was held in Elm Grove Cemetery, Mystic.