Robert H. McCollum Jr.
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Robert H. McCollum Jr. 76, recently of Shaw Rd. Bernardston, died Saturday (1-2-2021) at Baystate Franklin Medical Center, Greenfield. A master builder, founder, and owner of Robert H. McCollum Construction, he was a craftsman carpenter who over five decades built anything from foundation to roof, including historical restorations. "Quality construction without Compromise, was his slogan. Bob asked that his grave say that he was "the only son" of Robert and Helen (Bonneville) McCollum- because he had two sisters, Jean Harrington, and Mary Ann Anderson, both who predeceased him. He was born and raised in Northfield on Gulf Rd. and said his father- who was a mule-skinner in the South- came to Massachusetts to work on the Quabbin reservoir. He saddled Bob on a horse when he was 6 years old to teach him to ride. Bob graduated from Pioneer Valley Regional High School, raising pigs to help pay for his college tuition at the University of Wyoming, where he majored in agriculture. He transferred to the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, completing a B.S. in forestry. Returning to Northfield, McCollum purchased 35 acres of land along Maple St. near his parents farm, where he and his wife Sara McCollum planted thousands of seedlings. Bob "raised his own beef" and worked for a time as a farm hand. He built up his construction business over several decades, and at one time had several crews on his payroll. He devoted much of his time to civic life of his small town, serving on the Bernardston Zoning Board, as chair of the town's Conservation Commission, and President of the Bernardston Kiwanis. Bob was an insatiable reader, especially of the plain-spoken adventurer, Ernest Hemingway. Bob described himself as Robin Hood, giving to the poor. When the Bank of New York Mellon threatened Bob with eviction, he fought them in court, and eventually reached a settlement which allowed him to move into an apartment in Northfield. Always part cowboy, Bob kept a collection of Stetson felts hats, most of them never worn. He had a book entitled How to Die Poor lying by his bedside. Bob purchased a house in Bernardston in the 1990's and lived there until August of 2020, when he moved into Squakheag Village in Northfield. For comfort he wanted a Bose radio so he could listen to his favorite station WMAC public radio in Albany. As his health began to fail, he lived in his apartment, cared for by 7 home care aides, personal care attendants, and a visiting nurse. His last request was to give them all a cash bonus for putting up with him. Bob's friend Peter Rising Sun remembers once praying with Bob, who ended his prayer by saying, "All we have is each other." "Bob was a special friend to me," Peter recalls. "He blessed me with the power of prayer." When Bob was ill with cancer, he asked his Cherokee friends to perform a prayer ceremony for him, involving a prayer cloth and a Sacred Mountain. Bob credited the Cherokees when his cancer went into complete remission. On Bob's gravestone is the image of his last partner in life, his dog Moxie, whose ashes will be buried with Bob, along with a blade of sweetgrass. Bob will lie in a velvet-lined wooden casket made at his request by his friend Russell Deane of Bernardston.
Bob is survived by his former wife Sara, and their daughter Amanda Beth McCollum-Diamond, her husband Wayne of Delaware, and his niece Victoria Anderson of Northfield and nephew Troy Anderson.
Due to covid private funeral services for Robert McCollum are being arranged by Kidder Funeral Home, 1 Parker Ave.Northfield, Ma. A memorial service will be held later this spring.
Donations in his memory may be made to either: the Kiwanis Club of Bernardston, 835 Brattleboro Rd. Bernardston, Ma. 01337, or the Triad Program, Franklin County Sheriff's office, 160 Elm St. Greenfield, Ma.01301.
To send condolences please visit www.kidderfuneralhome.com.