Albert Robert (Bob) Simpson

Albert Robert (Bob) Simpson

September 7, 1926 – January 25, 2021

Albert Robert (Bob) Simpson, born September 7 , 1926; died January 25, 2021 of Covid19. Predeceased by his parents Albert and Maud, and siblings (Jim, Doris (Alex) and Marvin), he is survived by his wife, Betty Lou (Dafoe); his children, Janet Weiss, Patty Simpson (Steve Enns), and James  Simpson; two grandsons, Lyndon Weiss and Lucas Simpson, his sister-in-law Sophia Simpson, and 7 nieces and nephews (Jerald Tarasoff (Lorna), Doug Tarasoff (Marilyn), Linda Blanchette (Maurice), Jack Tarasoff, Joanne Alexander (Randy), Donna Parker (Gary), and Shane Simpson (Rose).

Bob grew up on the family homestead outside Langham with his brothers and sister.  He helped on the farm until he finished high school, when he joined the Navy but was immediately medically discharged due to hearing loss. He spent two years at the University of Saskatchewan majoring in Chemistry, before running out of money.  We’re not sure how hard he studied, but he enjoyed singing in the campus musicals.

Over the next years he moved around Canada, then came home to help his dad on the farm. He was diagnosed with cancer when he was only 25. Along with surgery, which paralized the left side of his face, he was one of the first patients in Canada to be treated with cobalt radiation therapy.

In the late 1950s he moved to Uranium City where he worked for Eldorado Nuclear. While in the north he met and married the hospital’s head nurse, Betty Lou Dafoe. There they had two daughters, and  their son was born just after they moved the family south. Bob and Betty Lou lived in Saskatoon for the next 50 years, but Bob went back to farming in the early 1970s – first on his family homestead at Langham, and then he bought land near Debden.

Bob was active in Masons and Shriners for most of his life. He was frequently asked to participate in Masonic ceremonies as he knew all the parts and could fill in for any role. He made many close friends in the Shrine Motor Patrol during the 1970s and ‘80s, and didn’t stop travelling and riding with them until he was over 80. He still took his turn selling tickets for the Shrine Boat Award in Market Mall until he was over 90.

Bob had a true love for life. He was always finding new interests, trying new things, and meeting new people. He loved to have company and would take one of his kids with him to run errands – then leave them sitting in the truck while he talked to friends/businessmen/strangers for what seemed like hours!  He would do anything to help out a friend, and often got called out to fix furnaces or install hot water heaters.  He became a refrigeration engineer; he took jewelry repair classes; he leased pinballs and juke boxes to countryside cafes; he turned the family house basement into a workshop to make bit-bags for the mines; he produced hoes out of his garage; and at the age of 91 he bought a wood lathe and planned to start up a new home business. 

Music was Bob’s great love. He played the piano, accordion, and harmonica and sang in choirs throughout his life. His greatest joy was playing music and singing together with friends.  His greatest regret was that his Parkinson’s deprived him of his ability to speak clearly or sing in the last 2 years of his life.

He also had a life long love of learning. He took classes by correspondence while living in the North; in his 60s he completed two certifications in Vocational Agriculture; and in his 80s he went back to university to finish his math degree, but unfortunately his poor hearing made it just too challenging to follow the lectures and he didn’t finish.  He could always help his kids with physics and math homework – but he would figure it all out from first principles, rather than following the textbook. After retiring from farming, he took on secretary and treasurer duties for his lodge, learning to use a computer to write and email notices and balance the books.

Bob was incredibly proud of his two grandsons, Lyndon and Lucas, and they loved him and learned from his example.  He loved his step-grandsons, Trace and Davin Dielschneider, during the years that they were part of his life. 

Although Bob was often ill and becoming very frail in his last years, he never stopped looking forward and continued to love life.

A Memorial Service will take place once Covid restrictions are lifted. Arrangements entrusted to Dalmeny Funeral Home 306-254-2022.