Paul Andrew Rowntree Rowntree

It is with great sadness that the Rowntree family announces that Paul passed away in his Guelph home on Monday, July 27, 2020 at the age of 60. Paul was the beloved husband of Anne Rowntree (McKnight) for almost 35 years and the proud and loving father of Christopher and Maria. He was the dearly loved son of the late Mary and Keith Rowntree of Varna and brother of Rosemary (husband Stephen), Christopher (partner Joanne) and Peter Rowntree (wife Teresa). Paul adored his nephew Alan Rowntree (partner Shelby) and his nieces Alison and Andrea Rowntree, and Genevieve McKnight. He was the cherished son-in-law of Catherine McKnight and brother-in-law of Mary McKnight, (husband Ken), Liana Yuyun (partner Mike), Paul McKnight and the late John McKnight. Paul was the first cousin of Rae (wife Susan) and Paul Zimmer (wife Brenda).

Paul grew up in London, Ontario and attended the University of Waterloo where he completed his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in chemistry. After finishing his Ph.D. at Princeton University, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at l' Université de Sherbrooke (Département de Médecine Nucléaire et Radiobiologie). In 1992, he became a Faculty member in the Département de Chimie where he enjoyed working as a teacher and researcher for fourteen years. Paul became a Chemistry Professor at the University of Guelph in 2006, and he served as Chair of the department for the past seven years. During his career, Paul’s research studied the reaction dynamics of molecules interacting with solid surfaces. He also worked with industrial partners to improve the refining of metals such as nickel and to develop a new approach for fuel cell engines to improve fuel efficiency and decrease the impact of transportation on climate change. Paul’s passion for both his teaching and his research, as well as his deep commitment to helping his students, colleagues and department be more successful, fuelled his drive to work hard throughout his career. His good humour and tremendous sense of fairness made him an invaluable colleague and friend.

Paul was a truly good, caring, thoughtful and intelligent human being – a true gentleman. He was genuinely interested in the stories and experiences of the people that he met, and he was always ready to share a humorous and relevant anecdote, joke or a pun. A friend described him as being a ‘Renaissance Man’. He was a true life-long learner who was always inquisitive and passionate in his quest for knowledge and an understanding of how things worked. Paul was always dedicated and persistent in approaching any challenge whether it was cycling across Canada, negotiating the tides while paddling the Inside Passage, improving his French language skills so that he could teach in Quebec, building a CNC woodworking machine, or learning to sail which gave him great pleasure in recent years. In his final days, Paul spoke of his gratitude for the life that he had had. Even though he wished that it could have been longer, that there could have been ‘more’, he felt that he could not have had a ‘better’ one. He would want us to remember that life can unexpectantly change in a minute, so we should appreciate each day and always remember to ‘leave a clean wake’.

Those wishing to make a donation in memory of Paul are asked to consider the Foundation of Guelph General Hospital and the Canadian Cancer Society. A Celebration of Life service will be held at the Rowntree family farm near Varna in the fall. To receive information about this event, please email [email protected]

PAUL'S CELEBRATION OF LIFE SERVICE IS POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

All family and friends are invited to join us as we remember and honour Paul’s life. A reception will follow the service. If you are planning to attend, please let us know by emailing [email protected] by *Saturday, May 15th*. This event will take place rain or shine. Please give yourself extra time to locate the farm, to park, walk down the lane, etc. The service will begin promptly at 2:00 p.m. Please speak to the person at the end of the lane to find out where you should park. The ground that you will be walking on may be uneven, so please keep this in mind when selecting your footwear. You may also wish to take a walk down along the river. Please bring a face mask if it is still being required at that time. If you have a special photo of Paul, we would love to receive a copy of it.