Dear Belva and family,
Pam Young from Brantford, as well as Doreen Ross, let me know of Bob’s death. He will be sadly missed by all of you. However, it is a great consolation that he is free from pain and rejoicing in the presence of his Saviour & Lord. Our loss is heaven’s gain.
Bob was a classmate of mine in Medical School in Toronto. We graduated in 1947.
Bob was a real inspiration to me. I was not a Christian when I started university and he greatly influenced my life. He has been a mentor for me down through these many years.
He started me attending the medical Intervarsity Christian Fellowship (I.V.C.F.) each week at the university. One evening we were going to “Little Switzerland” in Toronto for a skating party with the med. students and nurses from I.V.C.F. Verna and I were sitting at the front of the bus and Bob was leading the singing. He asked me what song I would like the group to sing. I said, “Roll out the Barrel. We’ll have a Barrel of Fun.” This song was popular at that time. Soon we were singing, “He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives to-day”. I turned to Verna and said, “I don’t know this song. I asked for “Roll out the Barrel”.
I was going to Sunday School and to the morning service in a modernistic church every Sunday. One day Bob invited me to an evening service at his church (High Park Baptist Church) in the west end of Toronto. It was the first time that Verna and I heard the gospel from the pulpit. An invitation was given at the end of the service. Those who wanted to accept Christ as Saviour and live for Him could go to the front of the church. Verna turned to me and said, “We want to serve the Lord”. So we both went forward and were led to Christ.
Down through the years, we would get together at medical reunions in Toronto. When he was speaking at different churches in our district, he would often stay at our home in Cambridge.
In 1972, Bob organized a 6-week tour of Africa for us. This was to meet many missionaries and to work in different hospitals. We went via Lisbon on July 23rd and returned on Sep. 2nd. We went mainly to South Africa, Angola and Southern and Northern Rhodesia (now called Zimbabwe and Zambia). It was a tremendous experience and we saw Bob working first hand on the mission field and were amazed at the number and variety of things he was involved in.
We drove a truck to a small hospital (which didn’t have a doctor) that Bob visited regularly. We had to stop and put water in the radiator every few miles. We brought back to town a couple that were going to live there. They put all that they owned in the back of the truck. We brought back a chicken as well and I assumed it belonged to the couple. However it was payment for Bob, for some surgery he had done in the past. When I gave the chicken to the couple, they jumped up and down and clapped their hands. When we got back, Bob said to me, “Roy, I can’t find my chicken.”
When on the field, Bob was going to write his memoir, “Sword & Scalpel”. However, they had a serious fire at the mission station and many of their records were burned. Bob and Belva were visiting us later and Bob mentioned about the records that had been burned. Verna said, “Wait a minute, I may be able to help you.” She went upstairs and from her filing cabinet, brought down extensive detailed records of his correspondence with us. She had saved many of the papers that had been burned. Bob was so pleased, for he used these records in writing his book.
These are just a few memories I have of Bob.
Verna is now suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease, is wheelchair-bound and living in a Long Term Care facility. In spite of this, she remains content. If she were aware, she too would have wanted to express her sympathy.
Roy Howarth
Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
Bob was a classmate of mine in Medical School in Toronto. We graduated in 1947.
Bob was a real inspiration to me. I was not a Christian when I started university and he greatly influenced my life. He has been a mentor for me down through these many years.
He started me attending the medical Intervarsity Christian Fellowship (I.V.C.F.) each week at the university. One evening we were going to “Little Switzerland” in Toronto for a skating party with the med. students and nurses from I.V.C.F. Verna and I were sitting at the front of the bus and Bob was leading the singing. He asked me what song I would like the group to sing. I said, “Roll out the Barrel. We’ll have a Barrel of Fun.” This song was popular at that time. Soon we were singing, “He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives to-day”. I turned to Verna and said, “I don’t know this song. I asked for “Roll out the Barrel”.
I was going to Sunday School and to the morning service in a modernistic church every Sunday. One day Bob invited me to an evening service at his church (High Park Baptist Church) in the west end of Toronto. It was the first time that Verna and I heard the gospel from the pulpit. An invitation was given at the end of the service. Those who wanted to accept Christ as Saviour and live for Him could go to the front of the church. Verna turned to me and said, “We want to serve the Lord”. So we both went forward and were led to Christ.
Down through the years, we would get together at medical reunions in Toronto. When he was speaking at different churches in our district, he would often stay at our home in Cambridge.
In 1972, Bob organized a 6-week tour of Africa for us. This was to meet many missionaries and to work in different hospitals. We went via Lisbon on July 23rd and returned on Sep. 2nd. We went mainly to South Africa, Angola and Southern and Northern Rhodesia (now called Zimbabwe and Zambia). It was a tremendous experience and we saw Bob working first hand on the mission field and were amazed at the number and variety of things he was involved in.
We drove a truck to a small hospital (which didn’t have a doctor) that Bob visited regularly. We had to stop and put water in the radiator every few miles. We brought back to town a couple that were going to live there. They put all that they owned in the back of the truck. We brought back a chicken as well and I assumed it belonged to the couple. However it was payment for Bob, for some surgery he had done in the past. When I gave the chicken to the couple, they jumped up and down and clapped their hands. When we got back, Bob said to me, “Roy, I can’t find my chicken.”
When on the field, Bob was going to write his memoir, “Sword & Scalpel”. However, they had a serious fire at the mission station and many of their records were burned. Bob and Belva were visiting us later and Bob mentioned about the records that had been burned. Verna said, “Wait a minute, I may be able to help you.” She went upstairs and from her filing cabinet, brought down extensive detailed records of his correspondence with us. She had saved many of the papers that had been burned. Bob was so pleased, for he used these records in writing his book.
These are just a few memories I have of Bob.
Verna is now suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease, is wheelchair-bound and living in a Long Term Care facility. In spite of this, she remains content. If she were aware, she too would have wanted to express her sympathy.
Roy Howarth
Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
No comments:
Post a Comment