Saturday, June 17, 2023
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I have transcribed this today to celebrate and revere the life of Robert Thompson better known to the MacIsaac, Shiell, and Smith family as Grampy.
Bob entered our lives fifteen years ago mere months after my marriage. Just when I thought my love story was cute my 79 year old grandmother, single for the better part of my life, brought this man home for Christmas. That holiday they were awkwardly akin to the puppy love of teenagers always within arms reach of one another. We made a point of teasing them. Their partnership went on to prove it’s never too late to risk the winning, losing, and trying of love. Together they had vitality.They took a cruise to Jamaica, hosted large parties for Bob’s carving group, organized their 80th birthday bash bringing their respective families together, and kept great grandchildren entertained in their pool and rolling or sledding down that big backyard hill. They were particularly fond of taking long drives to explore the country side and making pit stops at whatever casino lay in their path. Bob was welcomed readily into the fold of my family. As a whole, we cultivated cherished moments, these little pieces in time, that have made the puzzle of our lives far more colourful and complete. Today I’d like to honour Bob by sharing some of those little puzzle pieces. After all, Bob loved his puzzles. We had a great puzzle exchange program going between us over the years.
Bob was present for the vast majority of milestone’s made in the adult lives of the MacIsaac family and in this way it is hard to remember a time without him. He stood among us at my father’s depart with dignity from a lifetime of service in the military. He shared in many of our birthday, Thanksgiving, Easter, and Christmas gatherings. As my family grew, the name Grampy was bestowed upon Bob to distinguish him as the great grandfather of three little girls-Mackenzie, Reid, and Quinn. Most significant to us, was Bob’s effort to join our greater family for baptisms, first birthdays, and first Christmas’ (even if it meant driving his beloved Chrysler through the immediate aftermath of the 2013 ice storm to be with us for Reid’s first Christmas). Likewise, he made the trip to Calgary to share in the joy of my sister Sheena’s wedding. Bob dove right into the festivities that week taking celebratory shots with Eric’s Step Mother and making an effort to get to know Sheena’s bridesmaids. The union of Sheena and Eric added two great grandsons to Bob’s collection -Isaac and Arthur. Geography often made complete family gatherings difficult so we favoured quality over quantity every summer at a cottage where multi day adventures enabled multiple generations to bond. It was at the cottage that Bob first met Isaac and Quinn as infants and gave each of them a bump on his knee. Needless to say, as traditions and annual celebrations took root Bob prioritized them into his life alongside my grandmother.
Bob’s relationship with the great grandchildren was sentimental, mentoring, and at times downright playful. Bob crafted a ride on elephant toy for Mackenzie presenting it to her at her first Christmas. This unique, personable, and cherished piece became a staple in our toy room over the years and has made many appearances in our photo albums. This was the first of many ways in which Bob shared his renowned artistry with us. Even more memorable was how Bob experientially gifted all of the great grandkids by welcoming them into his sacred carving space. He mentored them through painting birds he had carved specifically for each of them. He showed them how to mix paint colours, hold their brushes properly, and taught them about the markings on the given birds providing them images as a reference to aim for accuracy. The kids were captivated. In later years he sent them their very own ducks to paint. Later still, as Mackenzie became a budding sketch artist, Bob took her under his wing. The two of them would sketch together and in so doing he would challenge her perspective, push her limits, and empower her. He’d send her home from visits with drawing books and homework proposals. She in turn would send him pictures in the mail. He wholeheartedly cherished each and every drawing. At times, Bob could also be quite fun loving with great grandkids. I’ll never forget the day he joined toddler Mackenzie in her imaginary fairy world raising her arms and repeatedly sending her off into flight. Before long he had a pair of fairy wings on himself flying up and down the halls with her. Even when Bob was more restricted and using a wheelchair he knew how to make silly. On one occasion he used his wheelchair to lead all five of the great grandkids parading around his basement as a Choo Choo train. Some of the kids were trailing behind on his walkers while others were riding or pushing the life size carousel horse he had carved and mounted on wheels.
The adult relationships could be just as amusing. As a collective we forged war against the grackle population in Bob’s backyard shooting them with a bee bee gun to reserve the bird feeder for finer birds breeds. Of course, the bee bee gun antics did not stop there. Naturally we had to practice our marksmanship by shooting at a pop can dangling from a tree branch and keep score. Bob filled out the male complement in our family. He was a comrade to my father in retirement. Family visits often brought with them four generations of women and he could count on Bob to contrive an escape to the golf course where Bob was a steep competitor. Whenever my sister and her husband Eric visited the vinyl records came out. Evenings often included playing pool with the music blaring to some degree. Eric, in particular, appreciated the quality time spent with Bob over the pool game Skittles-they had a special connection. Likewise, my husband Bobby enjoyed listening to Bob’s stories about his days travelling up north hunting geese with the Cree over a few drinks. I’m not sure if Bob’s wisdom has upped my husbands hunting game though. Overall, my parents and grandparents were the most intimately involved in one another’s lives. They were a bubble long before the pandemic made them choose to be one. They were back and forth between Ottawa and Smith’s Falls on a regular basis sharing everyday activities (so much so Bob made visits to Ottawa an excuse to get out to Italian restaurants). That said, the foursome ventured as far as Punta Cana to vacation.
In conclusion, I’d like to leave you with a favourite quote of mine by Albert Pike. It reads as follows: “What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.” Bob never had biological offspring yet he had many children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. We all became Bob’s family by his choice not birthright. Bob saw something in us, he invested in us, he changed us…he loved us. For everything that Bob was he still ‘is’ because such is the legacy of our Grampy Bob Thompson.
Sincerely,
Erin MacIsaac-Shiell
(Granddaughter of Ruth Conners and Bob Thompson)
