Monday, September 4, 2023
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Sharing a few impressions of Bob which I hope will bring some happy memories to Sue, Dan and Donna and the extended families. From Bob I learned there is a Crosthwaite Avenue, parallel to Kenilworth Ave S. that is connected to family land and history.
As a lad, Bob liked being in the out-of-doors and often rambled in the King’s Forest. Later in life he enjoyed other activities, jogging, walking the dogs, and hearing the sound of grouse take off, and seeing beauty in a pheasant’s tail feather. If memory serves correctly, he played the piano and enjoyed drawing. On his walks, he kept count of the ‘free’ money he collected by picking up returnable bottles and cans. He once laughingly told me of being mistaken by a local grower for a worker who was ‘down on his luck’ and being offered a job tying up grapevines. He cut down trees without accident and unusual for many working in the trades, he had all his fingers (his words). He harvested wood and used it to heat the home in the winter. He was an excellent canoeist, skilled with a paddle and enjoyed fishing, often with great success.
In his teaching life he was well respected by staff and students. His classes took on the tasks including mandated course work, support for theatrical productions and the various real life projects of commissioned ‘sheds’. Most designs were pretty standard…except when I wished for a gazebo with eight sides and an elegant roof. His drawings for the project are full of sketches and complex calculations of rise, run, angles, and pitches. It was designed to be prefabbed in the shop and assembled on site. A lot of math and planning by a clever man have provided enjoyment to many. He was very skilled at his craft of carpentry and cabinetry.
Certainly, one of a kind, Bob is unmatched for his quickness of wit, warmth and generous spirit. He is missed.
