Obituary of Robert Stewart McALPINE

December 23, 1964 – Yorkton, Saskatchewan November 11, 2015 – Calgary, Alberta Rob ate ice cream every morning for breakfast during the last few years. And pie on Sunday morning. Saskatoon Berry pie that Scott and Lisa bought every week at the farmer’s market. Rob’s last breakfast was ice cream and pie. His life. His terms. It is not possible in so short a space to explain why superlatives like kind, brilliant, loving, loyal, gentle and compassionate are so Rob. Those who knew Rob know. Those who did not, missed out. Rob was always gifted and passionate. He was a star hockey player, golfer and honour role student and married Carolyn, the smartest and prettiest girl in the College of Commerce. They had three kids – Adam (the biggest guy in the room), Michael (the second biggest guy in the room) and Teresa (the girl with prettiest blue eyes you have ever seen). Rob used his gifts to make his family happy. As an athlete, he naturally fell into coaching his kids’ sports teams. As a music fan, he infected his family with a passion for both kinds of music – country and western. They travelled all over the United States catching performances by Kenny Chesney and the like. All this and much, much more as he rose through the ranks at Spartan Controls and was appointed CFO and resident stud-muffin. MSA took Rob, as we knew it would. The diagnosis nine years ago signalled the beginning of a physical slide that slowly but surely reduced his ability to make his body do as he commanded it. Rob accepted that MSA would take him but he did not cede anything else to it. Rob lived his last years on his own terms. MSA be damned. The doctors told him that he should not be able even to lift his head off of his pillow. He walked. He was told to use a wheelchair because his very difficult and most unsteady gait made mishaps likely. He refused. Carolyn countered with, “what are you going to do? Tap dance?” And he did. Ooooh, it wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t meant to be. He laughed as he danced about the kitchen. Carolyn laughed harder and their three kids, Adam, Teresa and Michael, almost wet themselves. He gave everything he had to his family, even when he had little left to give. Rob’s ability to eat became compromised towards the end as his physical side deteriorated. He was told he needed to use a feeding tube inserted into his stomach. Could happen. Not. Can’t eat pie and ice cream through a tube. Carolyn, Adam, Teresa, Michael and Scott, Stu and Marian and their families will forever bask in the light and warmth that Rob brought to them and everyone else he touched. Funeral Services will be held at Bowridge RockPointe Church (12 Bowridge Drive N.W.), on Saturday, November 14, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. Condolences may be forwarded through .