 |
We are deeply saddened by the passing of our dear friend and colleague Robert Vernon.
Robert has served as Interim President of CITT/ICTS from 1997 to 1998.
He has been instrumental in the founding of the CITT/ICTS Mentoring Network. We are truly grateful to him for his dedicated work and involvement.
He was also the 2006 Recipient of the CITT/ICTS Dieter Penzhorn Memorial Award, awarded to an Individual who has provided significant and sustained service to the Canadian Institute for Theatre Technology/Institut canadien des technologies scénographiques, while playing an active role in the development of the greater Canadian cultural community. Read his Acceptance Speech.
Goodbye Robert, you will be missed dearly.
|
|
 |
Robert VERNON Obituary
Excerpt:
Visitation will be held at Hulse & English Funeral Home and Chapel, 75 Church Street, St. Catharines on Friday, April 2, 2021 from 2pm to 4pm. To keep within current Covid 19 regulations, appointments must be made to visit with the family. Please call the funeral home at 905-684-6346 during business hours to reserve your time. All guests are required to wear a mask upon entry to the funeral home, register at the door and maintain social distancing while visiting. Please remain in your cars until a member of the staff instructs you to enter the funeral home. A small private family service will take place Saturday, April 3, 2021 at 10 am at St. George's Church, St. Catharines. This service will be live-streamed for those who wish to attend remotely. Livestream information can be found on the funeral home website. In lieu of flowers, a donation to the Shaw Festival Theatre in Bob's memory would be greatly appreciated. Online tributes and condolences may be made at www.hulseandenglish.com. Bob was a kind and generous man who made the world a better place, and we were the lucky ones to have known and loved him.
Click here for the complete Obituary
Remembering Robert (Bob) Vernon
(January 28th, 1953 - March 25, 2021)
by Joe Bonar, member of IATSE Local 461
Bob had a lasting effect on all those who knew him, he was a kind soul who was very passionate about many topics and was very eager to share his passions with whomever wanted to listen.
I first met Bob in September of 1996 when I started at the Technical Theatre Program at Ryerson university. You could tell early on that this was an individual who was very passionate about his craft. You could also tell how much he was involved with student outreach in the professional community as he was the first individual to introduce the students to what CITT was and how, as students, we could utilize the services and benefits that CITT had to offer. At that time, he was the Chair of the Ontario Section. In addition, Bob also served as Interim President of CITT (1997-1998).
Bob left the Theatre Program at the end of the 97-98 School Term. I would not run into him again until he showed up down at the Shaw Festival in the mid 2000’s. Bob was a great personal friend to Ron Epp, and it was on Ron’s suggestion that Bob come down to Niagara and lend his many talents to the Shaw Festival. This would be the first time that Bob and myself would be building scenery not as teacher/student but as colleagues. A rapport that would last for almost two decades. We would joke, although he was my senior in age, I was senior to him on the union’s membership list.
Bob and myself had many similar passions. A love of woodworking tools, love of science fiction and fantasy, love of the various scenic elements that made up the theatrical experience to name a few. When Ron Epp passed away, Bob took it upon himself to look after Ron’s two cats, Bart and Lisa (aptly named after the Simpson’s characters) and was one of the many voices who suggested that the CITT Professional Achievement award be renamed in Ron’s honour.
Another passion that developed between us was the love of teaching and passing down our knowledge of scenery construction to the next generation. Bob was also instrumental in helping establishing the CITT/ICTS’s Mentorship network which helps match current or recently graduated students to working professionals. As he was developing this, he asked me if I would participate as he felt I could offer a lot to up and coming technicians. I felt honoured as to the offer but sadly I had to decline for personal reasons.
Bob was very grateful to his Shaw Festival family for all the love and support they showed to him throughout the years he was there. He went out of his way to help whomever he could when asked upon. One of those ways was as a member of I.A.T.S.E. Local 461. His passion for improvement and better advancement of the working technician led him to not only be a very active member of the union, but also to serve as the Local’s Secretary and head the initial Training and Education committee when it was created. You could tell how passionate he was about the Local and trade unionism on the whole through his posts on Facebook.
One of my favourite inside jokes with Bob at the scene shop was about pianos. One build year I was tasked with removing the working parts of various upright pianos for both weight and to allow automation to be installed. Bob was building other scenery, then eventually came to assist me in doing the same type of work on a prop baby grand piano. The funny aspect was we were instructed to minimize the amount of damage to the parts of the pianos we were removing, in case they needed to be recreated at a later date. Therefore, on two very large work benches were all these parts of various pianos that were meticulously labeled, inventoried and wrapped, just in case they were needed at a later date, then moved around the shop for a number of months before finally being throw out for garbage. Then the following build year, Bob is tasked with building a number of custom-shop-made upright pianos which can hold electric keyboards, I think he built like 4-8 of them.
I will miss many things about him. I will miss the casual conversations we had over lunches at the scene shop. The fun and comradery we had over a pint or two at the local craft brewery. The love of Star Trek and the discussions with both the new series in conjunction with the old.
I will miss my friend.