Arthur Harrison Oliver Jr., 94, husband of
sixty-one years to the late Mildred Adel (Crossley) formerly of
Essex, died peacefully on Sunday, May 14, 2017 in Gloucester,
surrounded by his family.
Born in Lynn October 4, 1922, he was the son
of the late Arthur H. and Ethel May (Lothrop) Oliver Sr. Arthur
grew up in Ipswich, where he worked in the stables at the Proctor
Estate. As a young man he trained race horses with his father as
they traveled all over New England and New York during the racing
season. At the urging of his mother, he took a job at General
Electric in Lynn in 1940. During World War II he served with the US
Army Air Corps. Following his honorable discharge he returned to G.E.
where Arthur soon met his future bride, Mildred Crossley and they
were married on January 13, 1952. He continued his employment at
G.E. from which he retired in 1984. Arthur and Millie lived and
raised their family in the Essex house he had purchased in 1940.
Throughout the rest of his life he performed any and all the
maintenance and repairs on the house and grounds, all the while
learning new skills. He single handedly excavated the dirt cellar
with a shovel and two buckets while building stone walls to support
the house. He then poured a concrete floor by hand in four foot
sections, a project that took several years. Arthur and Mille
enjoyed entertaining their many “city” friends and relatives in
their Essex home on summer weekends during the 1950’s, 60’s and
70’s. Generations of cousins, nieces and nephews will remember the
“cookouts”, including the tractor rides around the yard. Following
Arthur’s retirement, he and Millie traveled extensively, including
cruises to Alaska, Hawaii, Europe, and the Caribbean, including the
Panama Canal. Their favorite cruises were on the steamboats of the
Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, where they returned many times.
He is survived by three sons, Mark Edward
Oliver of Chassell, MI, David H. Oliver and his husband Mark Edward
Nelson of Essex, and Thomas Arthur Oliver and his wife Sue Joy
(Nelson) Oliver of Fort Collins, CO; two daughters, Susan June
Oliver of Gloucester and Diane Marie (Oliver) Bevins and her husband
Jonathan of Gloucester; ten grandchildren, Kristen (Oliver) Quevedo,
Michael Oliver, Mathew Oliver, Gregory Oliver, Nadine Oliver, Jacob
Oliver, Sarah Oliver-Munn, Daniel Oliver-Munn, Samuel Bevins and
Katherine Bevins and three great grandchildren, Marcus and Diego
Quevedo and Zayden Munn. Arthur was predeceased by a sister,
Virginia (Oliver) Torpey and a son-in-law Murray Munn.
At his request, there will be no services.
Memorial contributions in his name may be made to Care Dimensions,
75 Sylvan Street, Suite B-102, Danvers, MA 01923. Arrangements are
under the direction of the Whittier-Porter Funeral Home of Ipswich.
