Robert (Bob) Leonard Nunney passed away peacefully on July 25, 2025 in Kingston, Ontario at the age of 89.
Bob was born on July 19, 1936 in London, England to Winnifred Rose (Hillier) and Sidney Edwin Bertram Nunney. He is survived and missed by his two daughters Lynn (Jim) and Janice (Mike) and his grandchildren Ethan, Trajan and Cordelia. He is predeceased by his two older brothers, Sid and Ron.
Bob was an adventurer, eternal optimist, lived life to the fullest and loved to share tall tales of his adventures over a Dark-n-Stormy with friends.
Bob grew up in London, England. Although his early years included surviving the London Blitz, he and his family enjoyed outings to the beach, swimming and hockey. In fact, hockey was one of the factors that made Canada attractive when deciding to move the family from England when Bob was 16 years old. Bob then lived in Toronto, Deep River, Ottawa, Whitby, Bermuda, the BVIs, Florida and various Caribbean Islands.
Over the years, Bob enjoyed a range of hobbies from waterskiing, windsurfing, water polo, downhill skiing, ice skating, golf, motorbiking, and scuba diving to driving his jet boat up the Ottawa River. The activity that defined him was being a sailor. Bob was an active member of the Whitby Yacht Club for many decades. He was a racer, race committee member, social member, dock builder and served as Club Commodore twice. He participated in multiple local, national and international sailboat races, including the World Master Lasers and the World T-Birds competitions. But the most cherished award was the hugely coveted Rubber Ducky Race trophy won at the Oak Orchard Yacht Club with his daughter, Janice.
Bob worked as an Electrical Technician for Ontario Nuclear Power Generation in Deep River and Pickering before joining CUPE Head Office as a Job Evaluation Specialist. Upon retirement from CUPE, Bob continued “work” as a Captain delivering sailboats across the Atlantic and the Caribbean.
We send heartfelt thanks to the staff of Arbor Heights’ Portsmouth Harbor team for caring for our father in his final year, and to Barb Brown for stepping up to care for dad when we needed a helping hand in his final days.
A Celebration of Life will be held at the Whitby Yacht Club in Whitby, Ontario on Sunday, August 24 at 1:30-3:30pm.
Memories and notes of condolence may be shared at Wartman Funeral Homes.
