Ronnie (Angus W.J.) Robertson - 1930-2019

Ronnie was buried today in Ottawa. Sedbergh friends at his funeral included Tom and Ann Wood, Boyd Whittall, Tim and Wendy Hartley, Bob Morrow, and Patricia Riveroll.

The Ottawa Citizen obituary reads in part as follows: "Born December 28th, 1930, our beloved Dad died on December 28, 2019, at the age of 89. Ron was brought up in Toronto, Nassau, and Montebello. He was one of the original first-year Charter members of Sedbergh School, and earned degrees from Bishop's University (BA '50), Oxford (Wadham College, BA-MA'53) and McGill University (BCL '56). His career in the Foreign Service included postings to Colombo, Sri Lanka and the UN in New York, and he later served as Ambassador of Canada to Finland. His last posting was as Minister and Deputy Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland. Ron was an excellent skier and a daily jogger, had a lifelong interest in cooking, and was a generous host to friends and family. His natural curiosity led him to be among the first to try new technology, and he loved travelling and exploring the world until late in his life. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of literature and world history and was a great, and spirited, storyteller. He was a born animal-lover. His home, like his mind, was always open, and many friends gathered at his table over the years. He was a loving father and grandfather, and the keystone to our family. Son of the late Angus Gerald Robertson and the late Catherine Grace Waldron. He will be greatly missed by his children, Miranda Abrams (Douglas), Anthony Robertson (Isabelle Solon Helal), Alexander Robertson (Huma Fazil), and Zoe Robertson; and his grandchildren, Sydney, Elliott, Harry, Emilie, Sophie, and Haris. He will also be fondly remembered by his former spouses, Rochelle de Zylva Schmallenbach and Terhi Salomas and by his extended family and many friends and former colleagues around the world. He was predeceased by his brothers, Douglas and Richard Myles and by his cousin, Susan (Suzy) Robertson Sorese."

Those of us from the early years of Sedbergh have fond memories of Ron's frequent (noisy if memory serves me right) arrivals in the Courtyard of the school in his very exciting, very sexy, brilliantly bright blue MG, which we were allowed to sit in as long as we left absolutely no stains on its shining, impeccable metalwork - and dream, of Le Mans, of course! I had the privilege of knowing Ron throughout his life and for the last decade, he hosted the monthly lunches for Old Sedberghians in Ottawa. We shall miss him.

- Tony