Obituary: Robert Allison Maxwell

1934 - 2016

Longtime Cordova fisherman Robert Allison Maxwell passed away on Tuesday, September 6, 2016 at Cordova Community Health Center. Bobby, as he popularly known, was born in Aberdeen, Washington on October 11, 1934.

Bobby and his parents moved to Cordova in 1950, and he graduated from Cordova High School in 1953. He began a long career in gill netting and seining on the Copper River Delta and Prince William Sound right out of high school, and fished these waters until he was 66. Bobby also spent many years as Steward of the Cordova Elks Lodge.

While attending Grays Harbor Community College, he met Carol Ann Fordel from Hoquiam, Washington. They were married in 1954, and made Cordova their life-long home. They raised a family of five, and enjoyed every minute of life in small town Alaska.

Perhaps the couple’s happiest times were at their place on Boswell Bay, where they spent much of the summer and fall. They enjoyed fishing, hunting, clam digging, family time together and most of all, picking strawberries. Carol’s famous jam was legendary, and locals who were fortunate to garner a few jars treated it like gold.

In addition to his wife Carol, surviving relatives include two sons and their spouses, Robert and Cindy Maxwell of Cordova, Mike and Sandee of Cordova; three daughters and spouses, Leslie and Tom Justice of Anchorage, Sue and Dale Muma of Cordova, and Debby Maxwell, of Anchorage; 12 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.

A celebration of life gathering will be held at the Reluctant Fisherman on Saturday, September 24, from 1 to 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Annual Cordova 2×2 Cancer Walk, at P.O. Box 2306, Cordova, Alaska 99574.

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