Robert (Robin) MacDonald

Robert (Robin) MacDonald, June 15, 1934 – July 13, 2018. Robin will be fondly remembered and deeply missed by his wife, Diana, their children, Stephen (Lorena), Jenny (David), Sally, and Phoebe, grandchildren, Anna, Zoe, Julian, and Leonora, and by his sister, Violet. Born in Middleton, England, Robin spent the war years on the family croft near Kiltarlity in the Scottish Highlands. He did his National Service in the Royal Air Force before moving to Canada, where he worked in farming and forestry in northern British Columbia. From there he went on to study at San Francisco State, Berkeley, New York University, Stanford, and Edinburgh, then returned to Canada to teach English at Carleton University for thirty years. As well as his academic studies, Robin was an avid reader, with an enduring love of long Victorian novels. Among his other interests were carpentry, painting, gardening, and golf, and he was a life-long Manchester City supporter. 

In lieu of flowers, in memoriam donations would be appreciated for the Ottawa Hospital Foundation or your local food bank. A celebration of Robin’s life will be held at Alan R. Barker Funeral Home and Chapel, 19 McArthur Ave. Carleton Place at 3:00 pm on Friday, July 20, 2018, with a reception to follow at the home and garden he created.