Robert Richard Meads Jr., who was known as Bullit, died on March 16, 2024 at his brother Nicholas’s house on Nelson Avenue in Provincetown after a period of failing health. He was 63.
The son of Robert Richard Meads and Parascovia Meads, Robert was born on Jan. 28, 1961 in Provincetown, where he grew up on Conant Street, running with the Conant Street gang who enjoyed sledding, ice skating, and going to movies together, said his sister, Roberta. He got his nickname when he found a bullet on the beach while roaming with his brother Peter and friends. “Look, a bullet,” he said, and from then on they called him Bullit.
Robert attended Provincetown Schools and then Cape Cod Technical High School, from which he graduated with honors, to train as a plumber. He also played hockey for the school. He followed the sport avidly, calling his sister to tell her when the Bruins games were on TV.
Robert’s father founded Meads Brothers Plumbing with his brother Francis in 1972, and Robert Jr. joined them after he graduated. He came to co-own the business with his father in 1995 and took full ownership in 2002.
In a 2002 interview for IAmProvincetown.com with Christine Frisco, Robert Sr. said of his son: “Robert is the second-best plumber in this town, and he’s sassy.” Hard working and dedicated, he was respected by colleagues and clients.
After his father died in 2009, Robert sold the business and continued to work as an independent contractor, moving only gradually toward retirement.
Robert always made time for family and friends. “He was a loving and caring brother who was always there for his siblings whenever they needed him,” Roberta said. He kept a boat and carried on his family’s tradition of going to the beach near the lighthouse at Race Point.
He was known for his sense of humor. In an online remembrance, Robert’s friend Regis Jason-Roy remembered him making sounds like fireworks at the beach. He liked to whistle, his sister said.
Robert is survived by siblings Peter Meads and wife Tammy of Wells, Maine; Roberta Meads of Raymond, Maine; and Nicholas Meads of Provincetown; his niece Athena and husband Bruce Grover of Wells; his nephews Peter John Meads Jr. and wife Pamela and Jeffrey Meads of Sanford, Maine; grandnieces and -nephews Savannah, Ben, Hailey, Max, and Jeffrey Jr.; and many relatives in Alaska.
A celebration of his life in Provincetown is being planned.
Robert loved the four retrievers he had over the years; in lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to any animal shelter.
