À LA DOUCE MÉMOIRE DE Robert John Ramsay
Regiment number: 23977, Staff Sergeant (Retired)
October 2, 1942 – May 04, 2025
Years of service 1965 – 2002
S/Sgt. Robert John Ramsay (Bob), Regimental No. 23977 passed away in Ottawa on May 4th, 2025.
Bob is survived by his wife Delyse (Dee), of 57 years, he was proud of his children, both Jason and Julie and of course the grandchildren, Alessia and Isabella. His brother Bill, wife Sheila and His sister Rose husband Willie.
Bob was born in Scotland, lived in Ireland and eventually settled in Kingston, Ontario with his parents and siblings, Rose and Bill. He joined the RCMP in April 1965 and began Training in Regina as a member of “A” Troop, together with recruits from nine provinces. “A” Troop was one of the last Troops to ride horses as part of basic training and it established Bob’s love of horses which lasted throughout his life.
Following nine months training, Bob was posted to “E” Division, Burnaby Detachment. He talked about walking the beat and having to report in via phone from the firehall on Kingsway. A much different experience from today. The next transfer was to Ottawa and the Musical Ride. This led to tours across Canada and much of the United States. There was also a special assignment to London England where Bob was part of a mounted contingent representing the RCMP and Canada during a presentation to Queen Elizabeth. His time in Ottawa also led to a 57-year marriage to Delyse (Dee), who had accompanied her parents from Australia for a two-year military assignment.
O Division, Toronto Customs & Excise Section followed by the Drug Squad was next. Julie and Jason were born during this time. The Toronto Drug Squad was a busy, demanding assignment during the 1970’s. Many long hours of surveillance and undercover operations were constant. Nevertheless, a little time was saved for baseball and curling.
A transfer to Ottawa, Foreign Services Directorate was the next stop, followed by language training in Guatemala. Then came postings to Lima, Peru, Den Haag, Netherlands, back to Ottawa and subsequently London, England. Bob returned to Ottawa in 2002 and took his retirement to live in Cumberland east of Ottawa. There he loved feeding the birds, growing fantastic dahlias and chopping wood but certainly disliked squirrels. As always there was time to visit with family, party with friends and chat with neighbours.
Bob is quoted to have said, “I have had a fantastic life, I should write a book » and his slogan till the end was “How fortunate I am to have had such a wonderful and exciting life”.
He will be greatly missed by family and friends alike.
A Funeral Mass will be held at St. Faustina Parish, 2571 Ottawa regional Rd 174, Cumberland ON, on Friday, May 9th at 11:00 a.m. followed by a reception in the parish hall.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Élisabeth-Bruyère Hospital.
Rest in peace Uncle Bob. We will miss your warm smile, incredible storytelling, fondness of Formula 1, and wonderful sense of humor.
I’ve only known Bob for six short years. I met him and Dee at my sister’s house a few months after my husband died. They welcomed me with open arms and I loved them from that moment on. It is a friendship I will always treasure.
Dee, Jason and Julie, I’m so very sorry for your loss. I will always remember Bob as a kind, caring, thoughtful and gentle person. He stood tall and straight from his many years of training and horseback riding. Looking at him, he appeared to be a man of dignity, one who deserved respect. Getting to know him proved that to be true and so much more! You will be sorely missed, my friend. RIP
Wendy
Dee, Julie, Jason and the entire Ramsay family we are very sorry for your loss. After a life well lived rest in pease Bob
Such a wonderful tribute. My thoughts and prayers are with you all. May you cherish the memories you have.
So sorry to hear of Bob’s passing. We were troopmates, posted together to Burnaby Detachment after training at Depot, shared an apartment and were life long friends. Our deepest sympathies to Dee and extended family.
Bob, you will always be remembered as a man who sat tall, distinguished and profound in the « saddle » of life!
I met Bob when I got transferred to Interpol and subsequently to Foreign Services. He was such a gentleman, a professional and a great mentor. Always had time for any of us who needed advice, direction or simply encouragement. A soft spoken man with a great heart. It was always great to share stories about our experiences (I was also on the Musical Ride and served in Den Haag Netherlands).
To his loving family and numerous friends, my deepest condolences.
Rest in peace Robert John!
We are deeply saddened by Bob’s death. We are fortunate to have known him. He was a wonderful loyal friend, attentive & caring, a gentleman, gracious host & dinner guest, a great story teller, superb dancer and all around, a very gentle person. I will never forget seeing him feeding the chickadees from his hand and making sure his little friends had water and shelter. He always brought me prized dahlias to grace my table when they were in season. He will be sorely missed and never forgotten.
Our sincerest condolences to Dee, Julie, Jason and his family.
Sharon, Peter & family
We have known Bob since the early seventies mainly in short periods when either he was visiting Australia with family, or we were in Canada. This is but a few snapshots of a much deeper relationship.
Bob was a good man to a fault, as Dee’s husband, a father, grandfather and a friend. In Australia he was always regarded as “a top bloke” which is high praise indeed!
On our first meeting in Australia in the early seventies when Dee, Bob, Julie and a very young Jason visited the family, the plan was to share a holiday home for a week down by the beach, a great idea except that it rained from arrival until the day we left …so much for sunny Australia. Jason was not well at the time and I recall Bob, with the patience of Job, nursing his inconsolable son in a crowded house with no escape because of the rain, and helping Dee in a way that shamed the Aussie male in laws. Indeed, they never lived it down and among the women, Bob became the benchmark for fathering in the family.
As a policeman on the front line for many years Bob gathered countless anecdotes and his ability to tell these stories with clear recollection and perfect timing set him apart as a great raconteur. Indeed, Bob was the person to have aboard on a road trip. All that was needed to start things off was to say, for example, “Bob, tell us the story about your boss’s visit to Peru when you had to explain why you ran a red light”, an hour and many stories later Bob was just getting warmed up.
Bob was easy to like and mixed easily with people of all stripes. He met his soul mates in Australia where he slotted into the groove seamlessly. He enjoyed a social drink and a party and when the music was pumping along, there would occasionally come a time when Bob transitioned into dance mode entertaining all with his, shall we say, unorthodox style, a spectacle we all enjoyed.
Bob was dedicated to his property at Cumberland and forming a great team with Dee, they maintained a beautiful expansive garden and I can visualize him now riding his beloved John Deere tractor for mowing duties that never seemed to end. When we visited Cumberland for the first time, as gardeners ourselves, we were amazed by Bob’s heroic efforts before the winter chill, digging up hundreds of bulbs and gathering the pots to place in the basement only to reverse the process in spring.
We were very fortunate to be posted to Toronto in the late seventies when Dee and Bob lived at Ajax. Both were wonderful hosts and great supporters at a time when health problems made life difficult. Despite his busy schedule, Bob was always available to help which is a measure of the man that we have never forgotten.
Rest easy ole mate, you were a fine man who left a memorable impression on so many in your life, leaving all too abruptly, I hope heaven is all it’s cracked up to be.
Denzil and Janne Bourne, Bob’s brother and sister-in-law from Australia
I first met Bob not long after Delyse and I and mum and dad arrived in Ottawa in June 1966 ( minus our brother who stayed in Australia). They met on a blind date and to this day I will never forget Bob’s face when I answered the door pretending to be Dee. The look of horror when he saw a 16 year old standing there soon faded as Delyse appeared behind me! From that moment on Bob became a member of our family and we all loved him, especially the amazing donuts he would always bring when he arrived. My parents soon came to the realisation that they were about to lose their eldest daughter to her ‘Handsome Mountie’, and as they say the rest is history. Our families survived on infrequent gatherings either in Australia or Canada, writing letters, and the Christmas tape recording. We have continued to love Bob all these years and more recently enjoyed many FaceTime chats with a glass of wine and the inevitable discussion about world politics which he so enjoyed. Rest in Peace dear brother. Love always. Debbie, Bryan, Tracey and Matthew.
Sincere condolences to all of the Ramsay family as you navigate this difficult loss of a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, uncle, brother and friend. I met Bob and Dee in Kingston Ontario in the early 2000s. They were visiting his Mom & Dad our dear friends Willy and Chrissie. My Mom, sister and I would join the Ramsay clan for a breakfast out at Megalos after church, often on Easter Sunday. Bob was always kind, funny and yet held a quiet dignified presence at the table. It was always a great pleasure to share time with Bob and Dee. Rest in Peace Bob.
Having known Bob over 40 years especially during when we worked together in London, England I will miss my dear friend greatly. Bob was always enthusiastic about his work and his family.. Over the years Bob became an important mentor to young RCMP members posted overseas. Doing so made their transition to their new job much easier. Bob’s wife Dee was there supporting him throughout his career and when his illness struck.
Bob the family man was very close to both Julie and Jason who will now have a void in their lives. Dee has been a pillar of strength over many months as she had to deal with many difficult decisions. Theirs was a great life together and Dee will have a huge adjustment.
Rest in peace my friend you have positively touched many lives!
My uncle Bob as a wonderful caring man whom I always enjoyed spending time with. I will always remember fondly our times with him when we lived in Toronto, particularly the Christmas of 79’, and the times we spent together when he and Dee came to Australia or when I visited in the UK. He was a masterful story teller and I remember being transfixed as he would tell me a story of one of his many experiences – to this day I am extremely weary and yet intrigued of pisco sours. I really wish he did write a book! I am also so very grateful that Lisa, Lachlan and Emily had the opportunity to meet my uncle Bob and they could experience for themselves just how brilliant a man he was. Uncle Bob you are definitely one of the good ones and we will miss you dearly, rest in peace. Love Andy, Lisa, Lachie and Emily
I met Robert John (Bob) Ramsay in 1991, when I was transferred to the RCMPs Foreign Liaison Branch. Over the course of 8 years and three foreign postings, I came to know, respect and rely on Bob. His wisdom, knowledge, calm demeanour, professionalism, engaging personality, and highly-developed sense of humour made him the the go-to guy in the whole Foreign Liaison Branch. Simply put, he was the mentor to so many RCMP Liaison Officers! He served his country and the RCMP with great distinction. Most importantly however, he was a very proud husband to Dee, and father of Jason and Julie. I never met his family, but recall Bob speaking of them very positively. When answering or signing off on a call, Bob would frequently say it’s ‘’Robert John, hold the horse till I get on, Ramsay.’’ Robert John will be remembered by so many and never forgotten for the great person he was. Rest in Peace.
To his family, our most sincere condolences. I had the pleasure of crossing path with Bob during my career in the RCMP. What stood out was his professionalism and honesty. What you saw with Bob is what you got. I only have good words to say about this man who was directly responsible for my selection as a Liaison Officer. My wife Odette and I have often talked about you. Bob left a solid impression with the both of us. Again, sincere condolences and rest in peace my good friend.
To love someone with all your heart and soul there is such pain when we are parted. My wishes for your peace and happiness until we are together again.. your loving wife. Dee