HELLO!

I share some very sad news. Bob Watt has died. Bob died early Monday morning. I came to his house immediately where I met his children, their parents and Eva and her daughter Joanne. We spent several hours together. From there the family wanted to specifically reach out to some persons whom Bob had often spoken of, I waited till now to send out this information, so the family had that time to connect with their close circle of friends. Bob’s funeral will be held at Woodlawn United Church on Maundy Thursday, April 2nd at 2 pm. Please keep his family in your prayers.

I am thinking a lot about my pastoral visit with Bob, several months ago. We had the opportunity to sit in his living room and reflect on his life (he was 90 years old in August). Faith and church have played a significant role in Bob life, beginning with his upbringing in Sydney Cape Breton. Bob was a computer genius, way back when computers were the size of our televisions today. Bob traveled for work, as he was on the cutting edge of technology. In fact, Jason showed me his current workspace where he has been busy transferring 8 mm films onto a platform he can access on his computer. Bob was clever, but what he will be remembered for was his ongoing faithful commitment, to his family, to his friends, to his church, to his community (Kiwanis). Although I did not know Bob until I came to Woodlawn, he had photos of places where he and I had attended gatherings. He told me he read my old columns. He told me he always thought I would one day end up at Woodlawn. We had a solid bond.

Since his death I have heard countless stories of Bob’s commitment. One that touched me came from a longtime member of our church. She took me into the sanctuary, showed me one of the quilts on the walls, and pointed to the section marked “Shalom”. “When I was going through some very hard times, I played the record Shalom produced.

There are so many people Bob touched, stories to tell. He attended the first large gathering I organized at Woodlawn, where I asked people to share names and stories of the “Cloud of Witnesses” (Hebrews 13) who came alive at Woodlawn and remained part of our community life. Bob included many names. He is now one of them. We will miss him dearly.

Peace, Kevin

PS It will not be the same on Saturday when we offer the Fish Chowder meals to those picking them up at the front doors. Bob counted the money. He was part of our team, full of fun, joy and support for all.