Robert Banks Coyle,

Robert (Bob) Banks Coyle Jr. Robert (Bob) Banks Coyle Jr., 83 of 1978 Chestnut Hill Avenue, Athol died Tuesday, December 31, 2013 peacefully at home.      Bob Coyle was born in Boston May 27, 1930 the son of Robert Banks Coyle Sr. and Bernice Ina (Baldwin) Coyle.  He grew up in Dorchester and graduated from Dorchester High School for Boys in 1948.      Mr. Coyle received the A.B. in Liberal Arts (1955) and A.M. degree in Geology (1962) from Boston University (BU) and was named the 1952 outstanding freshman cadet in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC).  He was a 1954-1955 recipient of the Edwards Scholarship. He worked at the family-owned printing firm, Hall & Company of Boston from 1944-1956.  On January 27, 1953, he married Barbara Jane Sherman of Weston and together they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary last January with 2 dozen friends and family.      Mr. Coyle taught geology, astronomy and ornithology at the Athol Junior High School (AJHS) 1956-1957 and 1962-1988.  He also served as head of the math and science department for several years at AJHS.  He was presented the Torch Lighter Award by the Athol Teachers Association in 1969.  For many years his home room class at AJHS supported a Korean foster child, Kim Myung Bae and held various fundrasers toward this endeavor.  He served as Director of Massachusetts Audubon Society’s Wachusett Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary summer nature camp in Princeton, MA in 1967.  In the summer of 1968 he worked as a counselor at the Morgan Memorial Camp in South Athol.       From 1957-1961 he served on the faculty of the Department of Geology at Allegheny College in Meadville, PA where he was involved in the exciting discovery and study of the remains of a prehistoric Mastodon from Lake Conneaut in 1959.  Over the four years Mr. Coyle was an Instructor of Geology and Geography at Allegheny he taught virtually every undergraduate course in Geology.        In 1961-1962 he was awarded a Graduate Assistantship at Boston University during which time he began work on his PhD in Geology under the tutelage of the late Dr. C. Wroe Wolfe.  He joined BU’s summer geology program based out of North Anson, Maine and as part of his graduate research project he mapped the bedrock geology of the Kingsbury, Maine U.S. Geological Survey Quadrangle which necessitated his hiking into remote parts of this undeveloped part of Maine.   For many years Mr. Coyle and his family summered in Mayfield, Maine in a primitive log cabin on Kingsbury Pond where he enjoyed closeness with nature.      He founded the Athol Bird and Nature Club (ABNC) in 1963 and served as its President for 25 years.  It was in the 1960s that he began to assemble materials which became the ABNC Museum.  The ABNC created a small wildlife sanctuary in the Thousand Acre Reservoir area in the 1960s and Mr. Coyle’s 8th grade classes took many trips into the area for nature study.  The club recently celebrated its 50th anniversary with a dinner and history of the club at which time he received many accolades and received a letter of commendation from State Representative Denise Andrews on behalf of Speaker DeLeo and the Massachusetts House of Representatives.  He was currently serving as the Treasurer of the ABNC.        He and his wife also enjoyed vacations at Star Island in the Isle of Shoals as well as numerous Elderhostel trips, two of which included significant visits to the British Isles.  Along with his son and wife he worked in the late 1970s and early 1980s as a volunteer at the Sandy River Railroad Park in Phillips, Maine where he served in many capacities including train conductor, ticket agent and cook.        Mr. Coyle served on the Athol Shade Tree Commission from 1967-1991 during which time the group was responsible for the placement and planting of many fine trees throughout the Town of Athol.  He authored a chapter on the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in the 2003 book “Massachusetts Breeding Bird Atlas.”   He worked as a wildlife rehabilitator for many years caring for sick and injured wildlife, mostly birds and took great joy in releasing his clients back into the wild.  In recent years he continued to pursue nature study.  Saturday morning errands always included checking for avian sightings around town with a stop at Adams Farm where he enjoyed visiting with friends and scanning the sky with binoculars for birds and studying distant mountain tops.      Mr. Coyle was very interested in the history of the Shaker sect and had visited many former Shaker villages and was an active member of Friends of the (Sabbathday Lake, ME) Shakers and the Boston Area Shaker Study Group.  In retirement he continued to present programs to interested parties on nature, history of New England meetinghouses and many other topics.      He loved to explore the back roads of New England, genealogy, visiting museums, photographing old churches, and many other pursuits.  Always a teacher at heart he had enjoyed teaching at all levels and over the last year had enjoyed giving science lessons to his friend and neighbor Zach Thiem.      He was a long-time member of First Church, Unitarian of Athol.  While growing up he attended the Second Congregational Church and later First Parish, Unitarian of Dorchester, MA.  He had also attended the Meadville, PA Unitarian Church.      Besides his wife he leaves one son Christopher A. Coyle of Athol and his wife Amanda E.E. Taylor and one brother Ronald W. Coyle of San Antonio, TX.  He was predeceased by two brothers, Wallace E. Coyle and Wilson S. Coyle, and one sister, Carleen A. Hart.  He leaves several cousins including Muriel Pope of Billerica, numerous friends throughout New England and beyond including one very special 4-year old, Miss Daphne Gregoire.      Mr. Coyle willed his body to the Boston University Medical School.  There are no calling hours.  A memorial service will be held Saturday, February 15, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. at the First Church Unitarian, 478 Main St., Athol, with the Rev. Marilyn Richards, pastor officiating.  Those wishing to do so may make a donation to the Athol Bird and Nature Club, 100 Main St., Athol, MA 01331 or to another charity of one’s choice.  Higgins-O’Connor Funeral Home, 146 Main St., Athol is directing arrangements. For further information or to share a memory with the family go to: www.higginsoconnorfuneralhome.com $(document).ready(function(){ });