Robert Niles Jr., 87     SCARBOROUGH -- Robert Niles Jr., 87, of Portland died Tuesday, March 11, 2008, at the Maine Veterans Home in Scarborough. He was the husband of the late Isabelle M. (Traynor) Niles.      Robert and his wife had been married for 54 years prior to her passing on Dec. 3, 1997.     He was born in Portland, on Sept. 7, 1920, the son of the late Robert and Helen (Cavanaugh) Niles Sr. He attended Portland Schools and graduated from Portland High School.     After service as a radio operator for the U.S. Army during WWII, he traveled as a sales representative for the Fred L Tower Company, a directory publisher. In 1953 he joined the advertising department of the Portland Press Herald and in 1971 was appointed to Classified Advertising Manager before retiring in 1985.     After his retirement he worked at Sears and in 1989 he joined the sales staff of the Maine Sportsman, retiring from there in 1999.     He was a past president of the Newspaper Guild as well as being very active in the Boy Scouts and Parent Teacher Programs. He also coached baseball in Farm and Little Leagues. He was also member of the class of 1940 Portland High School Reunion Committee. He was a life long artist and in 1945 his oil painting Between Trains was awarded First Prize in the Army's National Art Contest and was displayed in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. He then gave the painting to Portland High School where it hangs in the school library.     Robert was also a very active member of the North Deering Congregational Church in Portland, where he served on several committees, most recently as a collector. He was a volunteer at Maine Medical Center, having volunteered over 1800 hours. He also served as an election clerk in Ward 4 and had been a member of the USM Lifeline/Heart Line Program for over 25 years as well as a member of the Maine Historical Society and the Maine Charitable Mechanic Association.     He is survived by his three children, Patricia A. Niles of Peaks Island, Robert Niles III and his wife Carol of Pownal and Joanne Higgins and her husband Danny of Portland; as well as his seven grandchildren, Meagan, Jack, Laura, Peter, Jessica, Hannah and R.J.; and his sister, Dorothy Germann of Pittsboro, N.C.     Relatives and friends are invited to attend a visitation on Friday, March 14 from 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. at Jones, Rich & Hutchins Funeral Home, 199 Woodford St., Portland. A funeral service will follow at 12 p.m. at the funeral home with the Rev. Mark Rustin officiating. Interment with military honors will follow in Forest City Cemetery, South Portland.    In lieu of flowers donations in     Robert memory can be made to:    The North Deering     Congregational Church    1364 Washington Ave.    Portland, Maine 04103    Robert Niles Jr.    Jones, Rich & Hutchins     Funeral Home & Cremation Service    775-3763