Tribute to Bob Sinclair
1930-2019
Search
Tribute to Bob Sinclair
I just heard today that Bob Sinclair, of Wayne State University, passed away on Sunday in Nashville Tennessee where he had been living for the last several years. He was 89. Bob, as I recall, held the record as the longest serving member of the Commission.
Larry Bourne, Professor, University of Toronto
Bob was very active in our commission and hosted the meeting commission in 1992 in Detroit. Maybe that the youngest members did not know him, but he was a faithful member : He attended our meetings as far as he could travel until some recent years.
He published notably :
- Robert Sinclair (1967). VON THÜNEN AND URBAN SPRAWL, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Volume57, Issue1, March 1967, Pages 72-87
- Sinclair, R., TTT Project., Wayne State University. Dept. of Geography. (1972). The face of Detroit: a spatial synthesis. [Detroit]: Dept. of Geography, Wayne State University.
- Robert Sinclair and Bryan Thompson (1977), Metropolitan Detroit: An anatomy of social change – 1977, Ballinger Pub. Co
Nicole Elaine (his daughter) tagged in a post:
"My father passed away last evening holding my hand and the hand of my mother. Although we miss him already, we know he is back roaming the Scottish Highlands of his youth. Happy travels, dearest Dad. Until we meet again... Wherever I wander, wherever I rove, The hills of the Highlands for ever I love. My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here, My heart's in the Highlands, a-chasing the deer; Chasing the wild-deer, and following the roe, My heart's in the Highlands, wherever I go. Poem by Robert Burns ».
Sending all my deepest condolences to his family and friends on behalf of the Urban commission which is highly grateful for his great contribution and friendship.
Celine Rozenblat, President of the Urban Commission of IGU, Professor of the University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Difficult to hear.
I remember him as the most original, creative scholar who was highly open to different approaches and ideas. Scholars like him contribute to our discipline much beyond their writings. The way they inspire colleges and encourage them to bring themselves to the discipline was not less important than his academic work
I will remember him with a warm spirit.
Izhak Schnell, Professor, Tel Aviv University
We deeply appreciate the contribution of Bob to the urban commission. I am deeply moved by the essay of Nicole Elaine. Hope Bob has happy travels until meet us again.
Dr. Gao, Xiaolu, Professor, Chinese Academy of Sciences
I met Bob for the first time at the IGU Commission Conference at Berlin in 1994, and after that we have had other several meetings (inclusively in Romania, 1998). It was a great pleasure to discuss with him, to see his pleasure to explain me the diversity and complicated urban phenomena around the world, to appreciate his friendship. Although in the last 15 years we have not met, in my memory, he remains as an excellent scientist and a distinguished man.
May God take care of you, Bob!
Ioan Ianos, University of Bucharest
