Obituary of Robert Douglas Gillespie

ROBERT DOUGLAS (“SID”) GILLESPIE
Born in Colborne, Ontario: November 10, 1931
Passed away: January 16, 2018

Sid is survived by Marion, his devoted wife and partner of 62 years, his daughters Susan (Alec Zimmerman) and Cynthia (Stephen Shea), grandchildren Jason Prendergast (Amanda Griffis), Blake Prendergast, Lily MacLeod and Calder MacLeod, step-grandchildren Megan Shea and Caragh Shea, and sister-in-law Dr. Margaret MacMurdo McMillan (widow of Alan); and was predeceased by his brothers Bill and Don.

Born to William S. Gillespie and Ruby (née Grant), Sid was raised on the family farm on Shelter Valley Road near Grafton, Ontario, which he continued to maintain and enjoy with Marion and the family until his death.  A student of the local one-room schoolhouse, Sid’s character was shaped early on: hard-working, self-reliant, humbly self-confident, patient, generous, principled, a man of faith oriented toward his community and his family.  Sid was understanding of others, but demanding of himself.  A gentleman through and through.

Naturally adept at maths and sciences, Sid attended the Royal Military College, earning his wings as a navigator and graduating with a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering.  It was while spending his summers posted to Navigation School in Summerside, PEI that he met Marion MacMurdo at a golf course.  They were married on the first weekend following Sid’s graduation from RMC in 1955.  Thus began their lifetime together, often spent on the golf courses of PEI and with their friends at Thornhill Golf and Country Club, where he served as President in 1976.

Sid obtained his engineering degree, and later his MBA, from the University of Toronto, and while there was recommended by a professor to Jim MacLaren of James F. MacLaren Ltd., then one of Canada’s largest environmental consulting companies.  Sid remained at MacLaren for 27 years, becoming President in 1978.  He founded MacViro Consultants Inc. in 1989, serving as its President until he retired in 2006.  Owing to Sid’s unquestioned integrity, he was retained by Cole Engineering in 2009 to provide advice and guidance to its senior management team, serving for 7 years until finally retiring at age 85.

Sid was recognized by the Association of Consulting Engineers of Canada with the Beaubien Award for his outstanding contributions to that Association and the advancement of consulting engineering in Canada.  He also served on several committees established by the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario.  Sid was ahead of his time in his focus on environmental concerns and many of the modern comforts of city life, including sanitary water supply, sewage treatment plants and municipal heating systems, were built under his supervision at home and abroad.

Sid will be remembered by the staff and community of Timothy Eaton Memorial Church, the home to his faith, to which he offered decades of service as Clerk of Session, Deputy Chair of the Board of Trustees and a member of the Council.

The family would like to thank Dr. Ken Gamble and Dr. Srikala Sridhar for the care and comfort that they offered Sid.

A visitation will be held at the HUMPHREY FUNERAL HOME A.W. MILES – NEWBIGGING CHAPEL, 1403 Bayview Avenue (south of Davisville Avenue) from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 23^rd.  Please join us for a funeral service in TIMOTHY EATON MEMORIAL CHURCH, 230 St. Clair Avenue West, Toronto at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, January 24^th, with reception to follow in the Flora McCrea Eaton Auditorium.  In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Timothy Eaton Memorial Church or to Prostate Cancer Canada.  Condolences, photographs and memories may be forwarded through www.humphreymilesnewbigging.com.