LUSH, ROBERT JOHN (BOB) Died Wednesday, March 6, 2019, age 80, at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, from cancer, a battle begun more than a decade ago.
Dad was a life-long jazz fan, sailor and dreamer. His work was varied (bass player, traffic engineer, business owner, writer, editor), but once he discovered sailing, it was faithfully at the heart of everything he did. In the early days, he sailed out of Ashbridges Bay. When he found Lake Ontario to be too small, he went on to complete the OSTAR, Bermuda One-Two and Round Britain races, in addition to innumerable trips down to the Virgin Islands. In the end, he sailed single-handed almost 300,000 miles. In his retirement, he wrote romance novels from his boat, often in the Caribbean, until his illness forced him to trade the cockpit for the armchair where he was a faithful fan of the Blue Jays, hot summers and cold beverages. He recently said that he’d done everything in his life that he wanted to.
Dad was born in Toronto to Ruth and Elvin. He was predeceased by brothers Bruce and Allan and son Michael. He will be remembered by his ex-wife and friend for over 60 years, Patricia; children Carolyn, Bobby (Mary), Alison (Daniel) and Kathleen; grandchildren Sacha, Ashley, Emma (Marcus), Olivia-Rose, Esmé, Madeline and Michael; and great-grandson Sullivan.
Dad didn’t want a service of any kind, but if you wanted to raise a pint in his honour, I’m sure he wouldn’t object.