Dr. A. Robert Masten, MD, passed away on Friday, November 6. He was 79.
Dr. Masten was born in Milford on July 2, 1947, the son of Raymond Wesley and Edith Wilson Masten. He grew up spending time at his father’s lumber yards and family farms. He also enjoyed golfing with his mother. Milford remained close to his heart and it is where he would return to build his practice and raise his family.
Dr. Masten graduated with honors from Milford High School in 1965 having served as class president all four years. In addition, he captained many sports teams. In 1968, Dr. Masten graduated cum laude from the University of Delaware with a degree in biology. He earned his medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1973. He completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Maryland Hospital, serving as chief resident from 1976 to 1977.
After residency, he returned to Milford with his wife, Dr. Elizabeth F. Masten. He initially practiced internal medicine before pursuing additional training in dermatology at Philadelphia’s Skin and Cancer Hospital in 1978, Dr. Masten began practicing dermatology and skin surgery in 1979. Together, he and Elizabeth cared for their community for over 40 years, retiring in 2017.
Dr. Masten’s love of teaching carried naturally onto the playing field and basketball court. He coached baseball, softball and basketball at Little League, middle school and high school levels. Dr. Masten also served as a volunteer assistant coach for Delaware State University’s men’s basketball team in the early 1990s.
His involvement at Delaware State began when he took on coaching at Milford Middle School. Wanting to learn how to do the job well, he went to watch Delaware State’s practices. He and the head coach struck up a friendship, and he stayed. For a time, his days included seeing patients, coaching an afternoon middle school practice, and then heading to Delaware State for an evening practice. As he told a newspaper reporter, “It was busy, but it was fun.”
Dr. Masten felt that coaching made him a better doctor by helping him understand different personalities and how people could work together. He also served as a Cub Scout leader and on the administrative board of Avenue United Methodist Church. He was especially proud of his appointment to the Sussex County Vocational-Technical School Board of Education, another opportunity to support young people and their education.
Dr. Masten also helped grow Masten Partners, carrying forward a family farming operation whose roots reach back to the 1840s and continues today in partnership with C.E. Lynch & Sons. Among the things he kept was a poem about the meaning of a farm with the line “My farm to me is not just land.” Those words fit the care he gave to the land and the wildlife that depended on it.
Although he hadn’t hunted in years, Dr. Masten devoted countless hours and considerable resources to protecting waterfowl and other wildlife. With the assistance of Jeff Towers, Dr. Masten developed some of the premier waterfowl properties on the East Coast. He permanently protected every acre the family owned through conservation easements through the Nature Conservancy and the Delaware Aglands Preservation Program.
A life member of Ducks Unlimited, Dr. Masten received recognition for his conservation efforts from The Nature Conservancy, DNREC and Ducks Unlimited. His own explanation fro the work was simple: “They can’t stand up for themselves, so we have to stand up for them.”
Dr. Masten is survived by his wife of 52 years, Elizabeth F. Masten; his sons, Robert W. Maston (Kise) and James J. Masten (Susie); his daughter, Marjorie Masten (Kenneth); his sister and brother-in-law, Carolyn and Harry Humes; three grandchildren, Joshua, Bailey and Molly as well as numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his Aunt Lida Wells and his brother, Daniel Masten.
His family will remember his kindness, his intelligence and his quick wit. They will miss the conversations, the insights, the jokes and the chance to learn just one more thing from him.
A visitation will be held Friday, November 27 from 11 AM to 1 PM at Avenue United Methodist Church, 20 Church Street, Milford. Another visitation will be held Saturday, November 28 from 10 to 11 AM at the church where a Celebration of Life will be held at 11 AM.
In lieu of flowers the family suggests contributions made to Avenue United Methodist Church, 20 Church Street, Milford DE or through their online giving page.
Arrangements by Lofland Funeral Home. Letters of condolences may be shared with the family or flowers sent through the funeral home website.
