Robert Moyle Thomas died on Friday April 9 2021 at the age of 83, with his family by his side. Robert was a life-long teacher well known for his uncanny knowledge of all things especially science and technology. He is most remembered for the warmth and positivity he extended to everyone and loving life to the fullest. His greatest pride in life was his wife and four children, and his six grandchildren who were precious to him. Along with being a teacher, Robert was an avid artist in water colour and oil painting, and was an accomplished, self-taught sailor who taught many others aboard his sail boat, The Puffin. With his characteristic enthusiasm he purchased that modest little boat for a song, overhauled it into working condition and even sewed his own sails. Bob loved nature and went on many back woods camping trips to partake in his favorite pass time, fishing, which he did all the way into his twilight years with his brother Marty and his dear friend, the late Rene Leclerc. Robert was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia on Friday October 15, 1937, the oldest son of Ralph and Reta Thomas. Bob spent his life in Nova Scotia, with the exception of his very early years living in the Talara desert in Peru, where his father was stationed working for Imperial Oil, and where Bob learned both Spanish and English. Bob’s mechanical talents sprung early in life through his love of cars - he could rebuild an engine in the dark – and it was through this great ability to solve problems and fix and design anything that Bob helped many, many people in the decades to follow. Bob attended St. Mary’s University beginning his studies in Engineering and Geology and in his first year took a brief hiatus to work at sea on the Imperial Halifax. It was at this point in his life while in Halifax that Bob met the love of his life and wife of 61 years, Anna Mae (Anne) Boyd. Soon after marrying Anne, Bob switched his university studies to his true calling, teaching. Bob taught Chemistry at J.L. Ilsley High School where he eventually became Science Department Head, coached Reach for the Top, and started numerous student clubs. He had a rare knack for making math and science understandable, breaking it down to the simplest level and bringing the wonderment of science into so many lives. He loved experiments. He showed his young daughter how to bring a dead frog “back to life” by dissecting it and then starting its heart using a battery and electrodes. When personal computers were first introduced into the school system, Bob quickly learned how to program on a Commodore Pet and then, partnering with another teacher, developed a learning tool for students which attracted the attention of Star Wars and Indiana Jones filmmaker George Lucas, who inquired about the tool during his regular scanning for movie ideas. Bob placed no limits on what he was willing to learn to do. With daughters in figure skating and highland dancing, he learned to sew, eventually producing intricate full costumes from scratch. He became President of the Halifax Highland Dancing Association where he organized countless competitions, the first person to “digitize” these events. Always concerned about the environment, Bob started an environmental club at J.L. Ilsley High, which focused on the study and protection of the McIntosh Run river in Spryfield, and which lead to field trips for students including a trip to Scotland. Starting with a homemade shoe box camera, Bob expanded into serious photography, building a dark room in his basement, founding the photography club at J.L. Ilsley High, and producing hundreds of breath taking photos of nature and people which today hang beside his beautiful paintings. Among these photos and paintings are his renditions of our beloved ocean-side cottage in Cape George NS, which Bob built for his family and where we have spent nearly fifty, joy-filled years with Bob at our side, teaching us about the woods, the sea, the sky. After retiring from teaching high school, Bob began working for the Thomas Aquinas Center for special purpose learning, helping children, many of less advantage, discover and realize their own value and abilities and to move forward in life, with the strength and encouragement gained from Bob’s teaching of math. In his years on this earth, Bob forged forward loving life while battling several serious chronic illnesses that started in his early thirties, requiring intense treatments and multiple invasive surgeries. Though suffering physically and near death’s door on several occasions, Dad took a fascination in it all, ever learning about advancements in medical science which kept him alive, and then teaching it to us. But it was his love of life and keen interests that enabled him to defy the odds and stay living for so long by keeping him happy and at peace. Like the peace he found during lazy afternoons in the middle of a lake in the middle of nowhere, drifting off to sleep while fishing with his pal Rene, two old men snoozing for hours in a canoe until it finally drifted to shore, waking them up. You have earned your sleep, Dad. We love you forever. Bob is survived by his wife Anna (Boyd); his daughter Marie (Mark) Maclean, Halifax; his daughter Nadine (Max Turton), Hubbards; his son Jamie, London Ontario; his daughter Laura (Sean) Teed, Glen Haven NS, his beloved grand children who love Grandpa immensely: Daniel, Johanna and Hugh Turton, Henri Thomas, Mae and Lucas Teed. Bob will be missed by his sister Devina Reimer, Western Shore; his brother Martin (Carolyn) Bridgewater; his brother Russel (Zena) Bridgewater; and his sister Flora (Art) Macdonald Graves Island, as well as numerous nieces and nephews, brothers-in-laws and sisters-in-laws. Bob was predeceased by his beloved sister Barbara and brother-in-law Dwight (Devina) Reimer. Visitation is taking place at J.A. Snow’s Funeral Home 339 Lacewood Dr, Halifax on Friday April 16, 2021 from 2 to 4 pm and 6 to 8 pm. A Memorial service will take place at J.A. Snow’s Funeral Home on Saturday, April 17, 2021 at 2 PM. Bob’s final problem to solve in life, in his own words on his death bed, was saving the planet. He discussed electrification often over recent years, and right up to the end he pondered solutions for our planet. He wants us to continue with this important task, using what he taught us, and helping to teach and encourage others to carry on with this mission. To this important end, donations may be made online to the Robert Moyle Thomas Memorial Bursary, Dalhousie University, at: giving.dal.ca/robertmoylethomas or by calling (902) 220-9043.
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