Died comfortably at home in Halifax on April 7, 2010 at peace with himself and his life. The son of Margaret Stanwood Bagg (nee Drummie) of Saint John NB and Douglas Gorden Bagg of Montreal PQ, he was predeceased by both parents, both of Halifax since 1964, and an older brother Douglas Christopher, who died in infancy. He leaves behind, with great regret, a large number of marvelous people, including one beautiful daughter, Margaret Leslie and her fiancée Phil Bergeron-Burns, both of Montreal, Leslie’s mother Margaret Janet MacDonald of Halifax, his younger brother, Deryck Drummie Bagg, his wife Cynthia, and his lovely family: Jeremy, Tyson, Amber and Tamara, all of Maple ON. Also left are cousins Thomas and Roberta Clark, Margaret Jean (Clark) and Roger Ouellette, William Bagg and family, and Virginia (Bagg) Repei and family. But most especially, and with the greatest sadness possible, he leaves behind his fabulous friend and partner of seventeen years, and as of their wedding on 3 April 2010, his beautiful and beloved wife, Gay Miriam (nee Conrad). Bob was born in Saint John and grew up in Montreal, coming to Halifax in 1963 to attend Dalhousie (BA in history & organic chemistry). Left back is a wealth of superb colleagues, and many, many friends of 35 to 45 years, specific amongst whom are the members the Benevolient Funipendulous Society of Nova Scotia Logotechnicans (founded 1979). Despite his travels, he always regarded Halifax as his home. In 1989, after completing part-time (Dal) both a MBA and a MPA, Bob was offered a chance to do some part-time teaching at all three university business schools in Halifax. Though working at the time, this turned out to be his personal “Road to Damascus” – he loved teaching. He realized that all his work experiences and travels throughout Canada and the States, as well as some through the Caribbean, Latin and South America had simply led to a wealth of references for teaching. Teaching became his new love, and he realized that this final career move was what he had been – unawares – preparing for all his life. His natural pleasure in knowledge, ideas, love of working with people to constantly develop them and himself, along with his innate talkativeness, humour, and the ham in him enjoying being “on stage” and a centre of attention conspired to lead him to the Mount. Consequently, his effectiveness as a teacher was borne out by the respect of students, who usually registered for further classes from him, as well as the consistently high evaluations from students and colleagues.
Suggested for inclusion by friends and colleagues, the following is excerpted from Bob’s biography in the March 2010 MSVU Departmental newsletter: “Dr. Robert (Bob) Bagg is a well-loved member of the department, who joined its ranks as a full-time management professor in 2002, after having taught part-time for the Mount for many years. Since that time he has made his presence known in a variety of ways, having taught courses ranging from second to fourth year. One of Bob’s greatest strengths is his ability to tell unique stories in class, all relevant to the topics at hand, and all based in his own varied life experience. After all, how many faculty members in university today can tell stories about their work as a hard rock miner, or a textbook sales rep, or a licensed securities agent? Bob brings a wealth of experience into the classroom, following a variety of challenging jobs over the years, including stints as a management consultant, university bookstore director (at Dal), and as project officer for human resource development (also at Dal). He was an underground miner and crew chief for the International Nickel Company of Canada in Copper Cliff and he still proudly displays a mining hard hat, emblazoned with his name, in his office. Add to these such diverse occupations as bar services manager for Beaver Foods and apprentice paper machine operator for Crown Zellerbach Canada, and the eclectic mix of Bob’s life experiences takes shape. Bob translates his varied work experience into a delightful tapestry of learning for his students. His specialty and the focus of his doctoral dissertation (he graduated with his Ph.D. in Business Administration [Management] in October 2009) is in the field of management. Bob is an avid reader and he can often be seen lugging books (everything from textbooks through to novels) into his Mount office. He is a proud member of The Folio Society, an organization that creates beautifully bound copies of some of the world’s most loved books for distribution to its members. Given his love of reading, it is hardly surprising that Bob was also once the Senior Administrative Officer for the Canadian Learning Materials Centre, an organization with the mandate of increasing Canadian content in education. Bob’s research involves improving on the effectiveness of the employment interview; as well, he is very interested in critical thinking and how it is impacted by human cognitive biases. Bob has also done research regarding decision-making, particularly in regard to cross-cultural management environments. The depth and complexity of Bob’s research topics can’t hide his clever sense of humour and his ability to communicate effectively with his students. His students describe him as intelligent, hilarious, and interesting. It comes as no surprise that Dr. Bagg was listed as one of the Mount’s most popular professors by Maclean’s magazine.”
Visitation will be on Sunday, April 11 at J.A. Snow Funeral Home, 339 Lacewood Drive from 1pm to 4pm. Interment will be Monday April 12 at St John’s Anglican Cemetery at 2pm and is open to all who wish to attend. A celebration and farewell wake will be held at The Armview Restaurant , 7156 Chebucto Rd, Monday April 12 at 7:30pm. In lieu of flowers, donations to Feed Nova Scotia would be welcome.
Carpe Diem – quam minimum credula postero.`
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