Robert Cooey

Robert J. Cooey, 75, of Beaufort, SC, passed away on Tuesday, September 29, 2026 at his residence in Habersham.

Visitation for Robert will be held on Saturday, October 17, 2026, from 10 AM until 11:30 AM at Anderson Funeral Home with a Celebration of Life Service following at 11:30 AM.

Robert was born on February 2, 1951, in Queens, NY, the son of the late Harvey Reed and Kashmere (Kawecki) Cooey. He married Suzanne Greene in the early 70s. He later married Paula Christman in Savannah, Ga.

After attending Bronx Concordia seminary for two years he decided to work on the water like his father. Since spending summers with him on large tug boats since the age of 10 he decided that was best for him. He became a Harbor Master by his early thirties. Quite an accomplishment since there are many tests to take to get there. He started his career in the New York harbor. He was then asked to move to Savannah to run the tugboat company and be a Pilot. He had more than 50,000 movements in his career. One of only a few to accomplish that. He is one of only 50 in the world to do his job. He recently renewed his license and to the surprise of the licensing bureau it was his twelfth one. Something that had never been done here before.

He was a man of faith and honesty. A hand shake sealed the deal in his heart. He was an avid fly fisherman and enjoyed kayaking in his earlier years.

He is predeceased by his son Robert Reed Cooey.

His survivors include his wife: Paula Cooey; his children: Patrice (Todd) Heare, Allison (Adam) Bucceri; grand children: Matthew, Jillian ,Gianna, Joseph and Kamilla;
sister: Cassy Cooey (Jerome Bandur) and their son Martin Bandur; in-laws: Diane Blandford, Peggy Christman and David Christman (Suzanne).

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to CBC Savannah.