After an extended illness, Robert Blum died peacefully on April 27 at his West Tisbury home surrounded by loving family.

He was 76 years old. Services were held last Sunday, May 1 at the Martha's Vineyard Hebrew Center and at the grave site on Pine street in Vineyard Haven, where family and friends from all over the Island gathered to pay tribute.

Bob and Shanti, his wife of 43 years, were seasonal residents of the Island for years before becoming year-round Vineyarders in 1995. Their move came after Bob retired as a oral and maxilla facial surgeon with practices in Wayne and Ridgewood, N.J.

Born in 1929 in Erie, Pa., Bob studied at Pennsylvania State University and University of Pittsburgh. In 1959 he spent the year teaching in Israel at Hadassah Dental School. It was while he was in Israel that he met Shanti, a fashion columnist for the Jerusalem Post.

A passionate and competitive sailor, Bob's compass was always set to home and family. A breeder of champion boxers, he was first and foremost a devoted husband and father, taking great pride and delight in Shanti and their daughters, Michele and Leslie, relishing their family gatherings and the various accomplishments of his daughters, sons in law and grandchildren.

It was on the Vineyard that Bob was able to indulge in his various interests with passionate pursuit. An active member of Holmes Hole Racing Association, he sailed a Tartan 31 named Music Street. He won the Moffet Cup, was twice named best sailor of the year, and won 22 Holmes Hole racing cups.

With equal dedication, he was a member of the Rotary Club of Martha's Vineyard, served on the boards of the Chamber Music Society and the Martha's Vineyard Hebrew Center. He played violin with the Vineyard Sinfonietta and was a vocal member of the weekly discussion group at the Howes House. Three weeks before his death, he was still delivering meals on wheels to Island residents.

He will be remembered for his generosity of deed and spirit, his devotion to family, loyalty to friends and the character and integrity with which he contributed to the Island.

A man who always knew how to make the best of rough seas as well as having reverence for smooth sailing, Bob set his goals and met them. The finish line, the inscription he chose for his headstone, was always crossed fairly and in good style.

He is survived by his devoted wife Shanti, his loving children Michele Berlyne and her husband Rick Chisholm of Toronto, Canada; Leslie Blum Hecht and her husband Eric Hecht of Monmouth Hills, N.J.; and his adoring grandchildren, Timothy and Sarah Chisholm and Sidne and Mason Hecht.

Funeral arrangements were under the care of Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home, Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road, Oak Bluffs. The family requests all donations be made to Hospice of Martha's Vineyard, P.O. Box 2549, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557.