Robert Hay Carnie
March 28th, 1928 to Sept 8, 2007
Professor Emeritus Bob Carnie passed away peacefully in his sleep on
September 8, 2007 in Calgary Alberta Canada after a long battle with
illness. He leaves behind his loving and beloved wife of 50 years, Jean;
three children: Morag, Fiona and Andrew; and sisters: Isabel, Ruby, and
May in Scotland.
Bob was born in Dundee
Scotland, where he attended the Morgan Academy. He received an MA in
English and Philosophy and a PhD in English literature from the
University of St. Andrews. He taught and researched 18th century
Scottish literature, bibliographic studies, book cover design, the
Scottish book trade, and the works of Samuel Johnson, James Hogg, and
Robert Burns. Loved by his students, he taught at Bedford College
London, Queens College at the University of St. Andrews, the University
of Ife in Nigeria, the University of Dundee, and for twenty years at the
University of Calgary. At the University of Calgary, Bob served in the
president's office as Secretary of the General Faculties Council. He was
the editor of the journal Abstracts in English Studies. He was also the
author of numerous articles and pamphlets and wrote the beautiful Burns
Illustrated, published by the Calgary Burns Club.
Bob was an avid golfer,
fisherman and sports fan. He loved to listen to the music of Ella
Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra. But his greatest passion, apart from his
bonnie Jean, was collecting signed decorative book bindings. His
extensive collection was donated to the University of Calgary in 2006.
Bob was the bard, distinguished life member and past president of the
Calgary Burns Club and a life member and frequent speaker at the
Schiehallion Scottish Society.
Bob was a man who
believed that compassion, justice and truth come from within us all,
that learning and knowledge are the greatest achievements of
civilization and that things of beauty are worth our time and attention
even if they have no monetary value. His gentle loving nature, wisdom
and wit will be
greatly missed by his family.
The Carnie family would
like to express their appreciation to Dr. Vincy Yam and Dr. Han Friesen.
Our greatest thanks to our dearest Danielle, who has become part of the
family.
In lieu of flowers, the
family asks that donations be made to the GARP program at Rockyview
General Hospital.
All friends are invited
to a celebration of Bob's life to be held at Sierras West, 6868 Sierra
Morena Blvd. SW on Wed Sept 12th, at 2pm.
Patrick Scott
Director of Special Collections,
Thomas Cooper Library,
& Professor of English,
University of South Carolina,
Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
Tel: 803-777-1275
Fax: 803-777-4661, attn Dr Scott
E-mail: scottp@gwm.sc.edu
Robert H. Carnie's Burns
books include:
A fine facsimile of the Kilmarnock edition:
Poems, chiefly in the Scottish dialect , printed on handmade paper and
issued in wrappers like the original Kilmarnock edition, with an
accompanying pamphlet about the Kilmarnock edition (1986).
A selection of papers
from the Federation meeting in Calgary:
The life and works of Robert Burns : some 20th century perspectives /
papers delivered at the annual conference The Burns Federation (1993).
An annotated guide to
studying Burns:
Burns 200 : 200 items central to the study of Robert Burns, a guide for
Burnsians (1996)
A book on Burns
illustrations:
Burns illustrated : a short study of selected illustrations (1795-1925)
of the poems and songs of Robert Burns (2000) |