Obituary of Robert Falconer

Robert Frederick James Falconer P.Eng 1931 - 2015 This gentle man passed away peacefully in the early hours of Saturday, December 12th with Mardi, his wife and partner of 60 years, sitting beside him in their bed. Having met at the University of Toronto where Bob studied civil engineering, theirs was a marriage of equality, long before such equality was the norm. Together they regularly travelled the globe visiting more than 50 countries, many of them - including their favourites, China and India -- more than once. Bob had said the city he liked best of all those he had seen was Hong Kong; he marvelled at the people's ingenuity and the speed at which they could make him a fine suit. Bob, like Mardi, was an inveterate dog lover and the couple shared the lives of three fine labs that spanned a period of almost 50 years. Together they spent most of their summers at their renovated age-old cottage on the south shore of Lake Joseph, playing with family and entertaining friends. Bob had a passion for classic sports cars; his own favourites being a yellow 1954 Jaguar XK120 and his black 1958 Austin Healey - 'a real sport car' he wrote on the back of a photo of it he had taken and framed. It was his love of well-made things that took Bob into engineering. Fresh out of U of T, he landed a job at MacLaren International, an environmental engineering firm in Toronto where he spent his entire career, specializing in water supply and purification. In retirement, Bob, who also had a pilot's license, volunteered with Mission Air Transportation, a charity linking people needing medical care in distant cities to corporations with empty seats on their private aircraft flying to those cities. Bob received wonderful care from the doctors at Sunnybrook Hospital. Special thanks go to Dr. Andrea David of Sunnybrook's family medical practice and Dr. Dov Gandell, his geriatrician. With their encouragement and guidance Bob was able to finish his last months at home, thanks also to the fine care provided by his team of caregivers Aida, Carmelita and Remy. Bob was born in Toronto to Leilah and Dunbar Falconer. He leaves behind his two sisters: Adele Martin and June Polack; their seven children; and their children's children, all of whom will miss Uncle Bob. Indeed, Bob will be greatly missed by all who came in contact with him - from his lifelong friends at university to the people he'd only recently met. He was that kind of man. Friends may call on Tuesday, December 15th, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Humphrey Miles Funeral Home, 1403 Bayview Avenue, at Davisville. A service will be held Wednesday, December 16th at 1:00 p.m. in the funeral home chapel, with interment at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery.