Robert Hursti

He was born in Timmins, Ontario and had many happy memories of growing up there.   He had many recollections of fishing in the Mattagami River and surrounding lakes both summer and winter, working summers in the Hollinger gold mine, being a member of the Algonquin Regiment and enjoying Finnish culture, including saunas and sports festivals.  

He started studying the violin at the age of eight and excelled at it.  Over the years he won many awards for his playing and as a teenager had a local radio show.  He went on to study music specializing in the violin at the University of Toronto and the Royal Conservatory.  He was concert master of two orchestras and was awarded an exchange trip to Finland in 1959 where he met many of his relatives for the first time.   

In 1960 he began teaching music at Central Secondary School in Hamilton.  Soon after, he met Pat who was studying nursing at Hamilton General Hospital.  They were married in 1964.  They moved to Ottawa in 1965 where Bob taught for one year at Champlain High School and then transferred to Lisgar Collegiate Institute where he remained as Head of Arts until retirement in 1992.  Despite the challenges groups of teenagers can sometimes cause he loved his job and the many performances, trips and exchanges he took with his students.  In 1989 he took a group of 60 student musicians to Finland where they were billeted with Finnish students, gave ten performances at various venues, learned the proper way to have a sauna and took a side trip to Leningrad, Russia. 

He had a wide variety of interests and community involvement.  He was convener of minor hockey, lacrosse and softball and involved in organizing the Westcliffe Community Association. He was a Director for many years of the Canadian Friends of Finland.  After retirement he continued to perform at many different functions and occasions. He produced several YouTube videos and a CD of Finnish Folk Tunes.  

He earned a 20 year service pin with The Canadian Cancer Society.  He loved canoeing, meeting people, joking, telling stories, retired teacher's breakfast and coffee at Tim Horton's with his friends.  In retirement Robert and Pat camped coast to coast in Canada and United States and enjoyed a few road trips to Florida, always finding someone to talk to.