Robert (Bob) Cluett, born November 18, 1932 in Manhattan, NY; died at Hospice Prince Edward in Picton, Ontario on May 9^th, 2026.
Celebration of life to be held June 7th, 1pm, in the Highline Hall at the Wellington and District Community Centre, 111 Belleville Street (CR2), Wellington.
Bob was predeceased by the love of his life, Thayer Bodman Cluett (2022) and by their beloved granddaughter, Gosia Gwynne-Timothy (2016).
Bob is survived by three daughters, Helen Cluett (Francis Cadeau), Marjorie (Marc) Seguin and Holly (Gordon) Gwynne-Timothy and their, Bob and Thayer’s, niece Amy Bodman (John Sanders), whom he called “a child of my house”, as well as seven grandchildren (Philip and Daniel Seguin; John, Kasia and Hannah Gwynne-Timothy; Emily and Elizabeth (Jack Waine) Sanders) and one great-granddaughter (Sirena Gill). He is also survived by his brother-in-law Richard (Karna Small) Bodman.
Bob, known in the family as “Unc”, a title of which he was very proud, will be much missed by nieces and nephews, Catherine Belden (Jim Nail), Dorothy Anne Bodman (Harvey Nosowitz), Marie Louise (John) Petrie, Taylor (Willa) Bodman, and Jim Bodman, as well as by his Ahlborn godchildren Eleanor, David and Seth, and all their families.
Bob became a Canadian in 1973. A multiple graduate of Columbia University (BS, MA, PhD), he never lost that New York-er verve. Bob described himself as having lived “a good life, a long life and a blessed life.” He was very blessed in his many friendships and he cherished those friendships. That quality of engaging with those around him was notable until the end – greeting each of the nurses and PSWs and others who cared for him by name and expressing gratitude for their care.
One of his most formative experiences came during his service in the US Coast Guard, when, at age 23, he became the Commanding Officer of a LORAN station in Cape Atholl, northern Greenland. His thirteen months in this isolated Arctic station taught him much about the wind and water, the march of the seasons and his own response to the midnight sun and noonday darkness.
Bob loved Prince Edward County for its beauty, its challenges and its opportunities. He and Thayer bought a farm on Huyck’s Point Road in 1987 and moved there in 1989. He
He embraced life here with his characteristic passion and extraversion, quickly becoming an identifiable character in Wellington – often with one of his beloved dogs (Shep, Sheba or Sola) riding shotgun.
In his last weeks, as Bob reflected on his life, he said the accomplishment of which he was proudest was the establishment of the LORAN Scholars Foundation, originally known as the Canadian Merit Scholarship Foundation (CMSF). The vision, passion and persistence that he brought to that enterprise were remarkable.
His success with this Foundation was the product of a vision developed during his 30+ years as a teacher, first as a Master at Kent School in Connecticut and then as a Professor of English at York University in Toronto, and his 30+ years of service as a Trustee of the Morehead Foundation, now the Morehead-Cain Foundation, a scholarship program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
As a teacher, Bob was very interested in why students had difficulties and how best to help them. This applied also to his coaching of sports. His most rewarding experience coaching was of the women’s squash team at York University (1979-1986). As his former players report, he was a “most revered and dedicated coach.”
Bob was a writer, to the core. His discipline of writing every morning, whether prose, poetry or correspondence, continued through 2023. He produced textbooks and other academic writing, while writing poetry and prose in which he explored existential questions of human fallibility, mortality and injustice. His family memoir, The Gold of Troy: an Inquiry into Family Mythology and Personal History, was at once a lament and a searing examination of transgenerational traits and tendencies.
His most popular writing was about wine. He described the little volume Making Homemade Wine as “my only best-seller”. And, for years, he graced many people’s Inboxes with the e-mailed “Fortnightly” newsletter, under the nom de plume “Chief Sipping Bull”. This was a much-enjoyed publication that blended budget-conscious recommendations from the latest LCBO offerings with his extensive knowledge of vintners and viticulture, relayed in a playful, even exuberant, style.
The family wishes to express their deep gratitude to Dr. Sarah LeBlanc and to the exceptional staff of Hospice Prince Edward, as well as to the staff at Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital and to Dr Amolins, and – last but certainly not least – to the kind and supportive staff at Seasons Dufferin Centre in Trenton and their Health and Wellness Manager, Angel Andrus. The family would also like to thank Archdeacon Nancy Northgrave for her sustained support to Bob and the family.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Hospice Prince Edward or to a charity of your choice. Arrangements in the care of the Ainsworth Funeral Home, 288 Noxon Avenue, Wellington, ON. Online condolences may be shared at www.ainsworthfuneralhome.com