Glen Robertson

With much sadness we acknowledge the passing of Glen Robertson on January 22nd, 2022. Glen was the beloved husband of Bobbie (née Miller) and father to Rachel and Colleen. Glen is predeceased by his parents Clinton and Marie and his brother Mark. He is survived by his wife and daughters, brothers Wayne (Leanne) and Peter (Colleen) as well as many extended family and friends.

Born in Winnipeg on July 31, 1961, Glen grew up in Wolseley where he attended Kelvin High School. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the University of Winnipeg. Soon after university, Glen started his career with the Government of Manitoba, where he served for 35 years. He worked in numerous positions and retired as a Drinking Water Officer in 2018.

In 1990, Glen met the love of his life, Bobbie, and they were married in 1992. Their family expanded in 1996, welcoming Rachel and again in 1998 with the birth of Colleen. Family was everything to Glen. He was immensely proud of Rachel and Colleen and was always there to cheer them on through all of their artistic and athletic endeavours.

Glen loved to be challenged by sports and activity. He could often be found cycling, skiing or windsurfing. Glen competed in many tournaments and sporting events, including the Riding Mountain Challenge (twice!) and the Banff Gran Fondo in 2013. More recently, Glen was an enthusiastic member of the Brandon Pickleball Club. Pickleball games at Brandon University and Stanley Park were a highlight in Glen’s week. His love for the sport led to many friendships over the past year.

Some of our most cherished memories with Glen are from family camping trips to Banff. Every summer, Glen, Bobbie, Rachel and Colleen packed up the car and were woken up by ringing the ‘gong’ at 5:30am to get the family going! Family trips to the mountains, Grasslands National Park, Dinosaur Provincial Park, and Yellowstone instilled a love of nature and adventure in all of us, which is a legacy that we will carry. In later years, Glen enjoyed visiting Rachel in Calgary and Banff and spending time at Lake Audy in Riding Mountain National Park with Colleen. Glen’s adventurous spirit enjoyed numerous international trips with Bobbie and his daughters. He was particularly proud of driving on the left hand side of the road in Scotland and Ireland, much to Bobbie and Colleen’s distress.

Perpetually a hobbyist, Glen always had a project on the go. He loved working with his hands, and built remote controlled planes and cars to race with his daughters and friends. Glen even built an indoor racetrack in the basement for the girls to race their home-built, hand-designed cars and terrorized the neighbourhood driving his nitro-powered ‘savage’ truck in the back lanes. One memorable event is when Glen got a remote control helicopter tangled in one of Rachel's friends’ hair! He also combined his love of birds and woodworking in many carvings and handcrafted pieces. More recently, Glen enjoyed restoring a used sailboat over the past year, which Colleen is looking forward to getting in the water this summer.

Glen’s life was defined by creativity, play, fun and adventure. As we remember Glen and celebrate his life, we will carry these qualities with us.

A private memorial service will be held for the family at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Friends of Riding Mountain National Park, Box 226 Onanole, MB R0J 1N0 or the Nature Conservancy of Canada, 245 Eglinton Ave East – Suite 410 Toronto, ON M4P 3J1.

A tree will be planted in memory and cared for by McKenzies Portage Funeral Chapel.  www.mckenziesportagefuneralchapel.com