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Robin Thomson passed away peacefully with family by his side, on
Saturday July 25th from complications of Alzheimer’s Disease. He is
survived by his wife of 43 years, Mary Lou (McKinley), his daughter Nikki
(James Gunn), his son Michael, his step-grandkids Heather and Finlay
Gunn, his baby grandson Otis Robin Gunn, his brother Andy Thomson
(Mandy), and his sisters Kathie Thomas (Richard, predeceased), and Judy
Maki (Tom). He was also a brother-in-law to Larry McKinley (Liz), Karen
Ratcliffe, Cathy McKinley (John Hoover), and Donna Steck (Brian,
predeceased). He is remembered fondly by Dale Ratcliffe, Doug McKenzie,
Marshall Soules, Greg Lambert, and his camp buddy and cousin Guy
(Spook) Mahaffy as well as many additional Plaunt, Thomson and
McKinley relatives of all ages.
Robin was born in Sudbury on March 16, 1948, to Dr. Mac Thomson and
Kae Thomson (Plaunt). He was the youngest of four children and was the
beloved baby brother to them all. They remained his very close friends and
confidantes for his entire life. He attended Alexander Public School (as did
his children and many of his nieces, nephews and now their children), and
was a proud graduate of Ridley College (Class of ‘67) in St. Catharines
where he was head chorister and enjoyed alumni events for many years.
He attended the University of Toronto, followed by Laurentian University
(BA), and the University of Guelph (B. Commerce, Class of ‘77). He
graduated to become a long-time and well-liked accountant, then
investment advisor and finally manager at Thorne Riddell (KPMG)
(1977-1981), Richardson-Greenshields (1981-1994) and BMO Nesbitt
Burns (1994-2015). His clients adored him, and he adored them back
(especially all the older ladies). He enjoyed friendly relationships with his
work colleagues and missed them all after his retirement in 2015.
He went to his beloved Lake Pogamasing for the first time at three months
old and every summer thereafter for the rest of his life. He loved all his
Plaunt cousins dearly and there are many tales of the fun and adventures
they all had together for over 70 years. Pog has always been his absolute
favourite place to be during all seasons, including regular winters beginning
in the 1990s. He could usually be found “putsing” around the Back 40 or
reading a World War II history book with his beloved Benji curled up at his
side. He spent hours driving the boat while his kids, nieces, nephews and
all their guests enjoyed tubing and waterskiing. Many kids had their first
“getting up on skis” with Uncle Robin at the wheel, as well as many
dunkings in the lake on those wild tube rides. “Who’s your favourite
uncle?!”
Robin believed in giving back to his community and was on the board of
the Sudbury YMCA for nearly three decades, serving as Chairman of the
Board for many years. The only person to serve longer on the Sudbury Y
Board was his own father, Mac! He was very involved in bringing the Y to
its downtown location, and was a great promoter of John Island Camp,
where Nikki, Michael and his nieces and nephews were campers and staff
members for many years. Many of them continued this love of camping
into their adult years, working at camps across Canada. He was Vice-Chair
and a long-serving board member of the Northern Cancer Foundation and
an early member of The Rotary Sunrisers of Sudbury. He was very
generous and quick to donate to many other local and national charities.
He was a true gentleman in every sense of the word and always looked
dapper in his slacks, button-up shirt and sweater. Robin enjoyed many
sports such as cross-country skiing, golf and curling. He was a gifted
hockey player with a beautiful stride and deadly snapshot. He passed on
his love of the game to his children and they loved getting together on the
ice. He also loved water-skiing, even having a one time practice with
Canada’s national water-ski team at Bigwinn Island in 1969. Another
summer job took him to Grand Bend in 1970 where he first met the
McKinley family on a memorable occasion with his sister Judy where
rumour has it that he ate 2 full chickens and 11 cobs of corn. Mary Lou
was instantly smitten! In July 2011, he became a member of the
Hole-in-One Club at Magna Golf Course in Aurora on a McKinley golf
weekend. He liked to say it was a “210 yard par three, hit with my nine
iron” with a twinkle in his eye. (It was actually 160 yards and he used his 5
iron.) “Oh, and over water, too!”
Robin was funny, warm-hearted, full of life, kind and quick-witted. He was
a wonderful husband, father, uncle, brother, grandfather, great-uncle,
cousin, neighbour and friend. He was the type of man who would smile at
strangers and he could always make children laugh. He would often
showcase his fine singing voice and his fantastic whistling was a regular
soundtrack at Pog and in his Kingsmount neighbourhood. He was never
afraid to show affection, was loving and well-loved and he will be sorely
missed every day by many, many people.
We would like to send out a special thanks to the Alzheimer’s Society of
Sudbury day program, the Northeastern LHINs, his wonderful caregivers
from Bayshore and Total Nursing Care, and the Palliative Care nurses and
caregivers on the 4th floor at Health Sciences North - truly a special group
of people. We would also like to say thank you for the loving support and
kindness that we have received from family members and close friends
over the last few years of Robin’s illness.
Please stay tuned for information regarding a future Celebration of Life for
Robin. We will wait until the COVID-19 situation enables us to
have an event where all of Robin’s family and friends can be in
attendance. In the meantime, donations to the Sudbury YMCA,
Northern Cancer Foundation or Alzheimer’s Society of Sudbury would
be appreciated. If you would like to spend a few moments
remembering this wonderful man, please pour yourself a glass of fine
scotch on the rocks (or load up a bowl of vanilla ice cream with a side
of homemade scones) and kick back on your lawn, patio or preferably
a deck or the beach at Pog. Put on some John Prine, Johnny Cash,
Kenny Rogers, Merle Haggard or your favourite CBC radio show and
spend some time with the people that you love. And think to yourself,
what a wonderful world. Arrangements entrusted to the Lougheed Funeral
Home, www.lougheed.org.

Service Details

Provided by: Lougheed Funeral Homes



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