About Robert

It is with great sadness that the family of Robert Kenneth Carreau announces his tragic passing on November 2nd, 2020 in Rosseau, ON. He was struck by a car while out for his daily morning run with close friends.

He is survived by his wife Lavinia; their children: Keegan (Carreau-Burns), Angeline, Eve and Miles; his parents Robert and Maureen, his siblings Christina (Aaron Steeghs), Jessica and Matthew (Christine Roy-Carreau).

Robert’s mother, Maureen sends this message in response to the hundreds of condolences the family has received:

“I know we are all heartbroken to lose such a light, such a beacon. We are supporting each other and sharing much love to push through this great sorrow. I believe that to move toward a healing place we must let go of the accident event. There is no value in dwelling on that portion of his story. What does soothe my heart is focusing on Rob’s life and what a wonderful, special person he was.

Rob had a wonderful brain. I asked his son Miles what we were going to do now when we have random questions. Wikipedia is okay but so often it can’t hold up to Rob. With that wonderful brain, he really could have been anything he wanted to be and he chose to be an Educator. How lucky for all of us.

He also had a wonderful heart, brim full of kindness, always looking to uplift others, ensuring all were included. His joie de vivre was perpetually displayed on his face in the form of that beautiful smile – from where he generated an easy and infectious laugh, spoke optimistically and sang with joy and abandon.

He was the quintessential “Renaissance man”. So clever and multi-talented. Equally comfortable having an intellectual discussion or being a cornball vampire; lecturing on the theory of education or running a beer mile; competing fiercely in an ironman or jumping off the dock dressed in his suit; performing for a crowd or walking quietly in the woods with his family. He was inspiring, selfless, unassumingly humble and made each of us want to do better, to be better.

He accomplished so much in his short life. So fortunate to have found the one true love of his life in his beautiful wife Lavinia, such a proud and loving father to Keegan, Angeline, Eve and Miles; so diligent in his thirst for knowledge and his belief in education which led him to his job at Rosseau Lake College where he welcomed the challenges and enjoyed the successes; a strong and respectful supporter of First Nations and the truth and reconciliation program – believing that no one moves forward unless we all move forward together; and he had an innate ability to leave a kind but lasting impression on people he crossed paths with.

I think his parting lesson to us all is to live big, have fun, shine bright, spread love and be the best version of yourself. His other lesson is the two-word mantra he had engraved into his X ring which read “Why wait?”.