Robert F. Dragunas, 57
Robert F. Dragunas, age 57, died peacefully at home in Middleboro, MA, on November 3, 2025. Rob was born and raised in Brockton, MA. After graduating from Brockton High School and while attending Massasoit Community College, Rob built, assembled, and tested high-end audio loudspeakers at Apogee Acoustics. In 1998, he earned a Bachelor’s in Music with a concentration in Sound Recording Technology from University of Massachusetts Lowell. His college experience included a music production internship at Soundmirror in Jamaica Plain, MA.
From 1998 to 2013, Rob ran Robert Dragunas Audio Services, allowing him to work from home while helping raise his three children. He used his recording expertise to capture and produce numerous live and studio performances while also servicing and restoring Apogee Acoustics loudspeakers. A gifted teacher, Rob shared his passion for guitar, bass, mandolin, and dobro with students at Central Music in Brockton, MA. In 2013, Rob began working as Software Quality Assurance and Software Release Engineer at Cohu, Inc in Norwood, MA.
From a very young age, music took center stage in Rob’s life, first with playing trumpet in grade school then exploring pretty much any instrument he could get his hands on. It was when he began to play guitar in his early teens that he found his true passion in stringed instruments. While he focused mainly on playing bluegrass on his mandolin for the past decade, he was also well known as a talented player of many genres on guitar and dobro. He loved all the musicians with whom he played, especially his bandmates from The Choice, Axident Prone, Albino Rhino, Ireland The Band, Erin Og, Phyllarus Blue, and 16 Shillings. In addition to playing, Rob was a listening enthusiast attending a wide variety of concerts over the years.
Rob was also passionate about martial arts. During college, he began practicing with the Shaolin Tai Chi Praying Mantis Institute, now in Avon, MA. Rob deeply connected with the underlying philosophies and found great physical benefits from Tai Chi. Over time, he also began to practice Kung Fu, learning forms with swords, spear, and staff. Rob earned his certification to teach Tai Chi and was excited to share this with the community. He taught classes at the YMCA in Middleboro from 2009 until 2020, when he switched to teaching independently, which he did with his beloved, long-standing students up until Spring of 2025
Rob loved nature and camping, was a fixer of all things, and was always curious about life and the universe. He was a member of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Middleboro since 2008. He saw possibility in everything and will be remembered for his never-ending drive for the positive. Rob is survived by his wife, Leslie Sorrento; his children, Samuel, Genesis, and Conor Dragunas; his sister, Susan Daggett-Duffy; and his brother, Michael Dragunas and his wife Bridget. He is also survived by beloved aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, in-laws, and friends. Rob was predeceased by his father, Victor Dragunas and his wife, Janet: as well as his mother, Ellen (Grant) Dragunas.
There will be a celebration of life at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, November 16, 2025 at The First Unitarian Universalist Society of Middleboro located at 25 South Main Street, Middleboro, MA. The service will be immediately followed by a reception at Brack’s Tavern located at 58 East Grove Street in Middleboro. Family and friends are warmly invited to attend. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Rob’s memory to either Donate to Dana-Farber and help fight cancer or Matthew Mission Food Pantry by mail at 76 Church Green, Taunton, MA 02780 or online at: matthewmissionfoodpantry.org .
