Robert JOHNSTON Obituary

Condolences to Bob's family. He gave some wonderful speeches at Tawa Toastmasters. He had a passion for history and may have had the odd fisheries one thrown in there too.

Fondly remember the many speeches Robert gave at Tawa Toastmasters.

Message to the Johnston Family
It seems such a long time ago - well, it was several decades ago, of course - when Bob last worked at Greta Point for "Fisheries" in a small, close-knit group of policy people, with Dean and Sharon. We rarely connected for work purposes, but did so every day by virtue of proximity, and that was always fun.

He was a quiet guy, mostly, but he was very engaging, interesting and interested. He also had a fantastic laugh that he found an excuse to use seemingly after every sentence, and he had a very endearing audible intake of breath he used with the same frequency. Funnily, I didn´t notice it for years, but once Janet pointed it out, I´d wait for him to punctuate his sentence with it. Everybody liked Bob, for the very good reason that he was a lovely guy.

He was also excellent at his work. His modest unassuming style might have led people to initially underestimate his capabilities, but he was smart and extremely thorough, and he made sure he thoroughly understood the subject before he wrote a paper about it. The fisheries science staff quickly realised that and hugely appreciated his powers of interpretation and how he accurately represented the science behind policy decisions. Well before it became part of the vernacular, Bob ensured science informed policy.

When he moved into town, a group of us we kept in irregular contact with Bob, and I frequently thought it was about time we caught up again. Sadly, that hadn´t happened for too long, but I will always remember Bob as a very kind, gentle friend.

Geoff Baird, Fisheries Research Division & NIWA
Suze Baird, Fisheries Research division, NIWA, MPI (sister)

Dear Alison, Bruce, Pauline, Caroline & family. Such a beautiful service for your son, brother, uncle... You must be so proud of him and will miss him terribly. Thinking of you all and sending my love. Sonia xx

Dear Bob, we had lots of laughters together. The last time we were together was when I went back to Wellington a year after I left for China. We had beer at the "usual" bar on Lambton Quay. The news came to me as a shock! I can't forget your laughters. I missed you dearly, my friend...

Bob was an inspiring work mate who really made a difference to my career. He helped me to build the confidence I needed to get into an ideal role. He was funny and smart and I loved our weekly zoom catch up. A wonderful friend. Miss you Bob.

So sorry to hear - I worked with Bob for a long time at Fisheries, and he was an absolute joy to work with.

One of many memories of Robert was how much he loved all his family and relished sharing his time with his nephews and nieces.His love and respect for his parents showed by him wanting to share his holidays with them time and time again.You will be sadly missed by your Pye family.

Dear Uncle Bruce, Aunty Alison, Carolyn and Pauline. So sorry you have lost your son and brother. It's always so wrong to lose someone so young and previously healthy. I am sure you have a lifetime of memories to comfort and remind you of Bob. I am thinking of you all at this time and wish you peace and love.
Love Jenny, Riley and Tyler.