Remembering Richard George Robertson, BCLS #407 By Robert Allen BCLS, CLS (Ret)
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hanks to Jeff Robertson, BCLS #699, CLS, and his siblings for putting the following together and allowing me to put on a few final touches. I, too, well remember George as a kind, quiet, thoughtful man who didn’t say a lot but always had good things to say. After reading what the family has put together, I wish I had got to know him even better. Richard George Robertson lived a full life, marked by his sense of humour, creativity, and patient agreeability. George was born in Vancouver, BC, on October 10, 1934 to Jane (Jenny) and Tom Robertson. In the early days George, his older sister Sheila, and their parents moved around Vancouver Island, following work opportunities for Tom.
In 1937 Jenny took a job at a fish hatchery in Rivers Inlet, where George (age 3) and Sheila (age 6) were free to roam the shorelines and woods with kids from other workers and local families. After a season they moved back to Vancouver so Sheila could go to school. In the 1940s, as now a single mother holding down several lowpaying part time jobs, Jenny somehow managed to put a down payment on a home on 29th Street just off Dunbar. Growing up in the 1930s and 1940s with a single mum clearly instilled in George and Sheila a strong sense of loyalty, solid work ethic, and a genuine appreciation for any small privilege that came their way over their lifetimes. During his school years, George enjoyed the Elphinstone YMCA summer camp near Gibsons, BC,
attended Kitsilano High School, and played trombone in the Kitsilano Boys’ Band. After graduating in 1952, George tried his hand at university, but after a brief stint at UBC he realized the classroom setting wasn’t for him. He worked at a number of odd jobs before landing a deck hand role on a tug boat working the South Coast and the Fraser River. It’s likely from this experience he developed his deep connection to boats and the water. George began his survey career in 1955 at the age of 21, with the firm of McElhanney, McRae, Smith & Nash of Vancouver, BC, and fell in love with the profession. He entered into articles under Fred Nash on April 16, 1957, was discharged March 30, 1960, and sworn in as BCLS #407 on April 26, 1961. His survey career spanned the LINK | August 2020
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