ROBERT YEO GRENVILLE

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ROBERT YEO GRENVILLE November 30, 1954 - September 22, 2014 Robert passed away at St. Boniface Hospital on September 22, 2014 after a brave struggle with Amyothropic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Robert (Rob) was born and raised in Winnipeg, the son of Marian and Grenville Yeo who both predeceased him. Robert attended Kelvin High School and United College. At age 22, he moved to the United States to live with relatives in Montclair, New Jersey, where he attended Montclair State University and obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He worked as a graphic artist in New York City for many years and took courses at Parsons School of Design before returning to school to get a degree in education at Hunter College in New York City. He worked in an elementary school in New Jersey for the next ten years. After his marriage to Odette Galli in January, 1999, they lived in New York City and eventually moved to Woodstock, New York where they resided for over 10 years. While he worked in Poughkeepsie, he pursued his education by getting a degree in Library Science and became the media specialist in his school. His position was eliminated three years ago due to budget cuts. In 2010, Robert moved to Denver, Colorado where close friends, Mark and Cely Lewis lived and where he found employment with the Denver public school system. He was diagnosed with ALS a year ago and continued to work until June, 2014. He returned to Winnipeg in mid-August. Robert was a kind and loving man who was a talented artist in his youth, but later chose education as a career. He had an inquisitive and creative mind, and enjoyed the cultural life of New York, particularly contemporary art and jazz music. He briefly worked at the Whitney Museum of Modern Art. Both he and his wife loved outdoor life and built a cottage on Mt. Desert Island in Maine where he liked to ride his bicycle with their three dogs. The couple enjoyed their trips to Europe, Central America and Peru. Robert was also interested in physical and spiritual health, attending seminars on meditation and New Age subjects at the Kripalu Institute in Massachusetts over the years. He displayed remarkable strength and even a sense of humour during his illness and was grateful for the love and support from his good friends, particularly the Lewis'. His emphasis on facing his illness with love was a source of inspiration. Robert will be sadly missed by his family, his former wife and his many friends. He leaves to mourn two brothers, Monty Yeo and Frank Yeo and his wife, Patty Sudermann-Yeo, a sister, Maggie Paskaruk and her husband, Larry, three nephews, James Paskaruk, Michael and Oliver Beach-Yeo, a niece, Martha Beach-Yeo and four cousins, Lynn Metcalfe, Paul and Chris Germain and John Arbuthnot. He also leaves to mourn his aunt, Barbara Germain and her husband, Garry, his uncle, Frank Metcalfe and aunt, Debbie Metcalfe. The family wishes to extend their gratitude to Dr. Robin McClure and the staff of the Palliative Care Unit at St. Boniface Hospital for their excellent care of Robert in the last weeks of his life. A memorial for family members was held on October 3 and a graveside service and burial at Brookside Cemetery followed.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Oct 04, 2014