Doctor Robert Alexander Sinclair
Born and raised in North Bay, leaving only long enough to obtain his Medical Doctor Degree in 1956, Dr. Robert Sinclair was definitely a northerner at heart.
Bob attended King George Public School and North Bay Collegiate Institute and Vocational School. In the early 1950’s, he left North Bay to attend medical school at the University of Toronto. This is where he met and fell in love with Stella, a beautiful nursing student. Coincidentally, Stella, his wife to be, had grown up 20 minutes away from him in Sturgeon Falls. After completing his internship at Toronto Western Hospital, the couple returned to North Bay in 1957. Bob joined his father’s medical practice and began his career in family medicine.
In July 1958 Bob and Stella gave birth to their first of four children. Bob was most happy being with his family. With his children at his side, he enjoyed teaching them about the world and exploring nature . Problems were seen as puzzles, that just needed to, and always could, be solved. The company of his children was a necessity as he fixed, puttered and explored his surroundings.
Bob was always willing to try new things and live new adventures. To the delight of his grandchildren he received a pie-in-the-face on his birthday, rode roller-coasters at Disney World, swam rapids, cheered loudly at hockey games, and tapped trees for maple sap. He enjoyed skiing, fishing, sailing, waterskiing and anything outdoors. Swimming in the cool, crisp, clean waters at the family cottage on the French River gave him great pleasure.
He had a great respect for nature and instilled that respect in his children. This meant saving dragonflies from certain death if their wings were injured or an intense feeling of remorse after shooting his first, and last, partridge. There was nothing Stella could do, despite her amazing culinary skills, to make that bird taste good. Julia Child would have failed. He never hunted again.
Bob was gifted on many levels and was very much a perfectionist. He had an uncanny memory and a “no nonsense approach”. He could be intimidating, especially if you were not trying your best. He was a constant teacher to his children, although they were unable to wholly absorb the vastness and diversity of his knowledge. His motto,” You break, I fix” was repeated often to his careless teenagers. Fortunately, as they grew older, his children appreciated the important lessons learned and passed them on to their own children.
He instilled Northern values in his family, especially at the family cottage on the French River. He was truly at home as he developed this retreat. His resourcefulness was notable as he invented and devised the many necessities of life his family required during their summer times on the river.
Bob lived his life as an empathetic, insightful and beloved family physician. He was a loyal husband, father, friend and real Northerner. He saw the value of our northern country and all it had to offer. The extraordinary efforts being made to improve the downtown and waterfront of North Bay, the city in which he lived and loved, are accomplishments that would make him proud.
Honoured by his family