Obituary
ROBERT P. ATTFIELD
Thank you for the music!
It is with profound sadness that the family of Robert (Rob, Bob) Attfield announces his passing on January 6 at Algonquin Grace Residential Hospice, Huntsville at age 73 after a courageous fifteen month battle with stage 4 glioblastoma.
Rob was a devoted son of the late Dorothy and Ralph Attfield and was a loving, committed brother, uncle, father and husband. Words cannot describe the depth of loss felt by his cherished wife Lynn McGregor and his adoring daughter, Nicole. He will be greatly missed by brothers John (Ella May) and Peter, nieces Paula (Debashish) and Elizabeth (Tim), and great-nieces Shanti and Molly and great-nephew Sunil, extended family, and all of Lynn’s family in Australia. Rob was predeceased by his youngest brother Mark.
Rob was born in Toronto, grew up in the Beach area, attended Malvern Collegiate and graduated from the Uni. of Toronto. He was a dedicated elementary school teacher with the former East York and Toronto District School Boards but his real passion was music. He had his first piano lesson at age 7, formally trained through Trinity College of Music, London, England, and at age 18 was certified as a piano instructor. He was the 2019 winner of Huntsville’s Got Talent.
Rob was always actively involved within the community in which he lived, be it Toronto or Huntsville. In recent years he was a Rotarian with Rotary Club of North Muskoka, a member of the Muskoka Watershed Council, facilitator of the ‘Films That Make You Think’ library series, a member of the initial Syrian Refugee Resettlement committee, former supply organist/choir director at Trinity United Church, Huntsville, and he played piano for numerous community fundraisers. He enjoyed traveling, restoring wooden boats, gardening, playing shinny hockey with seniors, swimming, skating and kayaking.
Throughout Rob’s life, he looked for the best in others and supported people around him. He will be remembered for his genuine concern for others, his kindness, compassion and generosity, his wry sense of humour, and his love of the flavour French Vanilla and chocolate!!
Heartfelt thanks are extended to Trinity United Huntsville’s congregation and the community at large, and family and friends near and far, for support in so many ways:- cards, phone calls, emails, food, messages of comfort and encouragement, and even a beautiful handmade quilt.
Grateful thanks are extended to Dr. Matthew Follwell, Dr. Allison Small, Dr. Greg Stewart, Huntsville Hospice, Home and Community Palliative Care/Support Services and the nurses from Closing the Gap.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations can be made to Trinity United Church, Huntsville, the Rotary Club of North Muskoka, the Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, Huntsville Hospice or brain cancer research.
A celebration of life wee be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 27th, 2022 at Trinity United Church, 33 Main Street East, Huntsville with a reception to follow. Arrangement enrusted to Billingsley Funeral Home, Huntsville. Please RSVP no later than Friday, May 20th using the link in the service section below. Livestreaming will able available for those unable to attend through Trinity’s web page trinityunitedchurchhuntsville.weebly.com or through Billingsley Funeral Home link below.
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Robert Paul Attfield 2022..
Death notice for the town of: Huntsville, Province: Ontario
Dear Lynn and Nicole,
May you be comforted deep in your hearts at this time.
Rob was a most extraordinary human being – someone who genuinely managed to make people feel valued. I have been replaying memories of my visits with you three from down through the years and there are a number of things that stand out above everything in my mind: Rob’s warm, welcoming smile, especially immediately upon my arrival at the “Huntsville Haven” each time; his genuine interest in my well-being and eagerness to be of support in any ways possible; his corny puns and jokes that he could conjure up on a dime – what a fabulous sense of humour he had; and his endless generousity with his time, resources and encouragement. I am imagining positive thoughts going up and out into the world as other people recall their own uplifting memories of how Rob made their lives a bit brighter.
When I shared the sad news of Rob’s passing with a friend and told them a bit about how wonderful he was, they encouraged me to seek out opportunities to do random acts of kindness throughout the coming year as a way of honouring Rob’s positive impact on my life. I think this is just the sort of thing that Rob would have loved, I hope you think so too.
My sincere condolences to you both, and to your extended family.
nt