Waterdown's Robert Wray may have preferred to work quietly in the background, but his legacy as a local historical researcher, community volunteer and steady leader speaks volumes.
Wray passed away on Oct. 22. His wife Sylvia kindly made a section of a book they published together in 2017, A Well-Travellled Family, available to FlamboroughToday. The couple devoted a great deal of time to researching the book, which traces the Wray family's ancestry back to the 17th century in London, England.
Bob was born Dec. 27, 1943 at the Hamilton Mountain Hospital (now Juravinski Hospital). He was born with an Rh factor incompatibility - the first baby in Hamilton to be diagnosed with and survive the life-threatening condition that had been identified in 1940. His care was supervised by Dr. Frank Boone, who ordered the life-saving blood transfusions for the baby.
His older brother Don remembers that, when he was younger, Bob suffered from having his birthday two days after Christmas - it was hard to have a full celebration and birthday party at that time of year. Don describes their family as close, taking vacations and watching sports together. Don and Bob were both Cubs and would spend a month at Kilcoo Camp outside Minden every summer.
In 1953, the family got season tickets for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. In 2003, they were recognized with others who had held season tickets for 50 years at a celebration that included players from the Ticats' early days. The brothers were also baseball fans, and would watch the Hamilton Cardinal baseball with their mother, whose interest stemmed from her father having played baseball.
At age 12, Bob was “introduced to two new sporting activities that would become an important part of [his] teenage years – golf and baseball.” He joined the East Hamilton Kiwanis Little League Baseball team. The league was inclusive of “everyone who wanted to play – even a young boy with a wooden leg was a member of [his] team.”
Bob and Don grew up on London Street and attended nearby Memorial School; their mother had been a member of the inaugural Kindergarten class at the same school. Bob then attended nearby Delta High School, the same school where Don and his parents went attended. When Bob was there, however, Delta experienced serious overcrowding due to Central High School students being displaced because of renovations at their school. In Grade 10, his classes were scheduled for the afternoon only. In September 1960, his parents decided to move him to Hillfield College (a private boys’ school at the time) for Grade 11. The school required students to participate in everything, especially sports. Bob continuously held the school record for the 100-yard dash.
After high school, Bob tried a few things. In 1964, he attended Brock University in St. Catharines the first year it was open, then enrolled at Hamilton Teacher’s College in 1965. He completed the year but found the practice teaching “extremely stressful” and knew he needed to keep searching. That led him to the Hamilton Institute of Techology (HIT), where he entered the new Industrial Management Technology, “designed to develop the rapidly advancing interest in computers for industrial use." Initially, classes were held in the old city high school on Wentworth Street, before moving to the newly opened Mohawk College on Fennell Avenue for the spring term.
In his third year of studies, companies from across Canada and the United States recruited at Mohawk College. Bob got multiple offers and accepted one from Hamilton’s Dominion Foundries & Steel (Dofasco), and went on to work there for 36 years. He was one of the first employees overseeing the introduction of computers into the many phases of steel production. After starting out with an 18-month training program to learn the various departments and gain an overview of the company, he focused on implementing computers to improve Dofasco's already high standards. He would also help evaluate employee suggestions for how the company could maintain its high standards of operation and employee satisfaction.
Bob met Sylvia Ann Watkins on a blind date arranged by an old school friend of his. At the time, Sylvia was teaching Geography, Dance and Physical Education at the now co-ed Hillfield Strathallan College. Bob and Sylvia got married in the Chapel of Christ Church Cathedral in Hamilton on July 26, 1968.Their honeymoon was a road trip to Montreal, Quebec City, the Gaspé Peninsula and Ottawa.
Bob developed an interest in collecting antiques, oil lamps in particular. The pair would visit auctions, flea markets and house sales, eventually ending up with more than 120 oil lamps. During trips to England, Bob would also join Sylvia "for a few hours" in brass rubbing (making a picture by placing a piece of paper over a brass plate that has writing or a picture, and rubbing it with a wax crayon).
Their two sons, Timothy and Simon, were born in 1976 and 1978, respectively. Shortly after that, the family moved Waterdown, to “The Rising Sun, an old coaching hotel on Centre Road and the oldest house in the township.”
Bob was a keen community volunteer. He volunteered with the Flamborough Soccer Association and helped as a coach as well. He also spent time at the Help Desk at McMaster Hospital.
After their move to Flamborough, Bob and Sylvia became involved with the Waterdown-East Flamborough Heritage Society. Bob joined the board in April 1981 as a director and became president two years later. In total, Bob spent 25 years on the WEFHS board and was involved in a wide range of activities: delivering newsletters, organizing book fairs, helping to research, produce and publish three books, and assisting with establishing the Flamborough Archives. In 2003, Bob received an award from the Ontario Heritage Foundation for his volunteer contributions.
In retirement, Bob worked with a group under the City of Hamilton’s Heritage Planning department to document places of worship in the City of Hamilton and surrounding rural communities. He also began volunteering at the Flamborough Archives.
In 2014, with the 100th anniversary of the First World War looming, he and fellow WEFHS volunteer Bob Lalonde decided ro research and record the lives of the young men and women of Flamborough who served during the conflict. They started with the names on local remembrance plaques, and then added to their list. Their goal was to make the veterans' stories more individual and personal, not just a group. They researched the veterans’ whole lives, not just their service during the war.
Lalonde remembers that they “had some pretty good laughs” but also some very sobering times. Both men did a fair bit of their research at home, but Thursdays would usually find them at side-by-side computers at the Flamborough Archives, sharing sources and helping each other with their research.
Lyn Lunsted, archivist for the Flamborough Archives, remembers Wray being very involved with photography and helping to take pictures of other people’s pictures for the Archives. Bob and Sylvia also researched and wrote to historical books, ...and they came to East Flamborough and its companion
From West Flamborough’s Storied Past, working with Waterdown’s Patricia and Maurice Green.
Bob was a modest man who was generous with his time for his community, often working away quietly in the background. His passion for historical research has left an indelible mark in our community’s historical records.
