Uncle Rob (Fr Bob) – A Potted History

Uncle Rob was born on 12 June 1951 in Hillfields, Coventry to Patrick and Nora. He was the second child of four and the only boy. His sisters Maureen, Nora and Elizabeth (our mum) are here today. The family eventually moved to Willenhall with Rob (and his sisters) going to Corpus Christi school. From there Rob moved for a short while to Bishop Ullathorne School. Having decided to become a priest he left home and went to school in Chester from where he eventually went to Oscott College in Birmingham to train for the Priesthood.

Rob was never happier as a young person than when he spent the summer months at the family farm in Tralee, County Kerry. It was here that Rob spent time with the family members who stayed in Ireland, working on the farm and developing his love of Ireland and County Kerry in particular. Whether his somewhat dubious Irish accent, rolled out during banter over family meals, was down to these visits, is something we’ve never been sure about. What we do know though is that his happy childhood and experiences of family life in both Coventry and Ireland helped shaped his character and was a huge influence throughout his life.

Uncle Rob was ordained on 15 January 1977. In his 43 years as a priest, he had the joy of living and ministering in a number of different parishes, not to mention a ‘one off ’ stint as chaplain to a luxury cruise liner. However, his time also saw him providing pastoral care to society’s less fortunate with his ministry including work at hospitals and prisons. Of course there were highs and lows at each of those but one would never hear the lows. Rob’s attitude to life was very much ‘can do’. He rarely troubled family or friends with the difficult circumstances he encountered.

He started his ministry as a curate in Bicester where he was particularly involved with the younger people of the parish. Family members would be invited to the ‘youth discos’ which entailed an evening’s round trip from Coventry to Bicester to partake in non-alcoholic drinks (age restrictions applied!!!) and watch with interest the parish youth’s efforts at dancing, before hitting the road back to Coventry. Rob was always keen on involving family members in the functions and events he organised!

From Bicester he moved to Nuneaton (1981-84) and from there he moved to Redditch as curate to Fr Wilcox. It was here that his involvement with the Redditch Catholic Fellowship developed and the friendships he made then, and his involvement with the group continued until he died. It was a huge part of his life. He organised countless pilgrimages for the group to Lourdes, as well as many trips to Ireland and holidays at Butlins. He rarely, if ever, took a holiday himself. Rob also really enjoyed the theatre and musicals. There were always several trips to shows throughout the year culminating in a visit to the Birmingham Hippodrome for the annual pantomime. Family members were always invited to these, with tickets being part of Rob’s Christmas to us all.

From Redditch Rob moved to Birmingham where he was chaplain to the City’s West Indian community. It was here that we, his nephew and nieces, really started to develop strong memories of Rob, particularly his enjoyment of the liberating beat of the community’s steel drum band and playing dominoes. For those who don’t know, Rob was a very able dominoes player and would take considerable delight in ‘hustling’ younger members of the family (us) when the occasion permitted. Unfortunately his horse tipping skills rarely matched his domino playing abilities. He was always interested in horse racing and having the occasional flutter on the ‘gee gees’. We would have family outings to the races a couple of times a year where Rob’s tips rarely came home. It was always a little bewildering then how he so often seemed to pick up some winnings until he was observed with numerous slips from both a variety of bookies and the tote. The suspicion being that having backed half the field, his odds of success were considerably enhanced. He also took the Redditch Catholic Fellowship on an annual outing to Warwick races. Rob was also a part owner (a very small part) in a horse for a year which was a family gift to him. Unfortunately, the horse was about as successful as Rob’s tips.

Rob was also a key figure in our annual trips to visit our Aunt Maureen who is a member of the congregation of the Little Sisters of the Poor (Mother Agnes). These visits lasted three or four days and all the family usual went ‘en masse’, (an every expanding number as Rob was by now a great uncle as well). Rob took on the thankless job of driving us around in the Homes’ minibuses, ostensibly because of his extensive experience of driving the Fellowship’s minibus. It has to be said these could be eventful journeys which tested his patience to the limits. We would visit a variety of attractions, parks, museums and historical sights. Whilst he wasn’t quite so keen on the museums and historic houses, Rob really enjoyed theme parks and suchlike, as evidenced by his annual trip to the West Midland’s Safari park with the summer play scheme participants. He took great delight and satisfaction from seeing others enjoying themselves.

After 7 years in Birmingham Rob was ‘posted’ back to his home city of Coventry as parish priest at St John Fisher, where he spent the last 25 years. This made his fortnightly pilgrimage to Highfield Road and more latterly the Ricoh Arena so much easier. As everyone will know Rob was a lifelong supporter of the Sky Blues. Much to the embarrassment of his accompanying friends and family members, his well-known cry of ‘get him off ’, aimed at most of the team at one time or another through the course of a match was a familiar sound to those around him. He was particularly proud of the fact that he was invited by SISU (the company that owns Coventry City) to bless the ground. We were never convinced that it helped the team win more games, but afterwards Rob always spoke positively (unlike many City supporters) about SISU’s management. It’s amazing what a seat in corporate hospitality will do!

It’s impossible to condense the last 25 years into a couple of paragraphs. You all know what a constant presence he was in the parish schools, visiting the sick and elderly, doing hospital visits, weddings, and helping out wherever he could. He never said no to anybody. His organisation and participation in things such as the summer play schemes, bonfire evening, race nights, St Patrick’s Day dances, and school discos was to him not a chore. He loved doing it. He was particularly proud of his bingo calling abilities and his inimitable style will be well known to his regular band of players. We were lucky enough to take part in many of the functions he organised. He was the consummate host to many family dinners in the Presbytery.

However, a few anecdotes and words cannot in any way sum up Uncle Rob. What he was, is the sum total of everyone who knew him’s personal experiences of his generosity, good humour, selflessness, compassion and willingness to help those less fortunate than himself. Please share your recollections of Fr Bob as we celebrate his life in the reception following his funeral mass.

Thank you

Gel, Jen and Will (Harry, Katie, Arlo and Freddie)