ROBERT MUNIZ • KOREAN WAR
Robert Muniz, 94
Gloucester, MA
Born: 3/7/1931
Died: 4/27/2025
Born/Raised: Gloucester
Rank: Sergeant
Service: US Marine Corps
Unit: Cherry Point Air Base, SC,
Opa-Locka Marine Base, FL
Dates of Service: 1951-1954
Robert “Bob” Muniz was born on Green Street and moved to Mt. Pleasant Avenue in the third grade. His parents William McKinley Muniz, a Gloucester Police detective, and Winifred Harnish had nine children. Bob was the third youngest. All six of his brothers served in the military, three were WWII veterans.
He graduated from Gloucester High in 1949 which included two years in the ROTC – a requirement at the time. Upon his graduation, he tried to get a job at a local bank but was turned down, so he decided to enlist. The day he went to sign up, the Navy was full and the Army was full, so he joined the Marines.
After basic at Parris Island, Bob served at Camp Lejeune, NC; Cherry Point, SC; and Opa-Locka, FL where he was a truck dispatcher. He left the service in February 1954 and returned to Gloucester. Utilizing the GI Bill, Bob enrolled in Holy Cross, the first in his family to go to college, and earned a degree in accounting. Holy Cross became be a common thread for him and his family: his four sons, a son-in-law, and three granddaughters all attend the college.
In 1960, on Good Harbor Beach, Bob met Jean Abrahamson, a nursing student at Addison Gilbert Hospital. The two married in July of 1960 and have six children (Paul, Matt, Sandy, Mark, MaryAnne and Steven). Bob worked for the IRS for a while and then took a position at United Shoe in Beverly and attended Harvard Business School. He ultimately started his own tax business. He worked his way through the ranks at the Gloucester Co-op Bank (now BankGloucester) ultimately becoming President, CEO and Chairman of the Board. His son Paul carried on the military service tradition of the family in the Navy as an anti-sub and nuclear weapons officer on the USS Ramsey.
Bob and Jean, married for 63 years, have 15 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Bob passed away on April 27, 2025. He is photographed with his son and Navy veteran, Paul Muniz.