Robert Thomas Byrnes

Born in Ontario, Robert moved to California as a teenager, with his parents. After receiving his PhD from UCLA, he returned to Canada in 1990 to join the faculty of the University of Winnipeg. He was a devoted teacher, until his very last course, in Fall 2019. His students loved their "Coach" - as he modestly preferred to be addressed. All along his 30-year career he inspired and mentored many of them, often into their professional lives. A specialist of the English language, he passed on his expertise in popular classes, always encouraging critical thinking and freedom of speech. Committed to Education, he contributed greatly to the development of courses and programs. He was also a distinguished James Joyce scholar, whose publications will remain relevant for future generations of Joyceans. His colleagues will greatly miss his cheerful collegiality, his humour, and engaging, unpedantic conversation, yet abound with a vast knowledge of literature, history and philosophy.

He will be remembered as thoughtful and kind-hearted. Many will cherish the DVDs he generously created with their "Philosophy of Life" interviews, or at special family events. Many will remember their flights over the Prairies. His passion for flying led him to become a pilot, trained at St. Andrews Airport. He loved the aviation world, exchanges with other pilots, mapping flight paths.

Loyalty defined him as a friend, humility as a human being. His family and friends will celebrate his full, kind life in their memory. Rest in peace, dear Bob.

As keeping with Bob's wishes, cremation has taken place and a private gathering was held.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Bob's name to a student scholarship or a charity of your choice.

I work as the Mail Room Coordinator at the University of Winnipeg, and I didn't know Robert too much on a personal level. But I really did enjoy his company anytime he had his books shipped to the Mail Room. He was always very kind to me anytime he came to pick it up and I will miss our interactions.

My deepest condolences to Robert's family.

Kevin Yumul

I am totally shocked at Robert's passing. We were colleagues at the University of Winnipeg albeit in different departments. I had the pleasure of interacting with him in our Athletic Therapy clinic and many times in the hallways of the university. I so enjoyed his jocularly and the good feeling I had every time I was able to talk with him. All the best to the family. I am sure that are so many wonderful memories that will carry you through the years.

My prayers are with you,

Glen Bergeron

Bob and I were colleagues at the U of Winnipeg and good friends. He was very widely read and thoughtful about how his knowledge related to his teaching of students. He has a sensitivity to the big questions of life and would have serious conversations at any opportunity. This combined with a good sense of humour. He once said that when someone was in distress at difficult turns in experience, you should feed them. I have vivid memories of his hospitality from time to time in this regard. Rest in peace, Bob.

Murray Evans

I am beside myself. Forever, we will hear his laughter echoing down the Rhetoric hallways. You will be miss by all, especially me. So long my friend and mentor. I will pick up the tab.

Kevin Doyle

Bob and I were colleagues at the University of Winnipeg, though in different Departments. On several occasions Bob was my pilot when we went flying so I could take photographs of Manitoba landscapes from the air. I always enjoyed Bob's company. He had a great sense of humour and was kind and compassionate. I was so sorry to hear of his untimely passing. My sincere condolences to all his friends and family.

John Lehr

I am very sorry to hear this sad news. I was a friend and colleague of Bob's from his arrival at UW in the late 1980's (and was on the c'tee that hired him). He was a gregarious colleague with a booming laugh. We traded James Joyce anecdotes and quotations for decades (he was a Joyce scholar). I also know that he was a celebrated and admired teacher. It is very difficult to believe he is gone. My deepest sympathies to his family.

Neil Besner

Professor Byrnes taught me to how to love learning again. His energy and engaging lessons made me excited about academics, and I wouldn't be where I am without him.

Rest in peace, Coach ❤

Maria Urso

The Writing Program, as it was first known, was and continues to be very dear to my heart. It reflected the best of academic cooperation during all the while I was Dean. In so many ways it has been a source of constant joy. The initial cohort of colleagues was remarkable in their capacity, in their commitment, and in their elan. I took great interest in all those we hired including in Bob Byrnes. We became friends and shared a great love of Irish literature. Dawn and I often connected with Bob at McNally's and enjoyed a Sunday afternoon tea or coffee. Ours was a simple friendship but it certainly was a friendship. Bob gave me a great gift. He taught my daughter Caitlin. He and Liliane Rodriquez taught a course on James Joyce that changed her life. She went to graduate school to study him and is now completing her Ph.D. What can be a greater gift to a father than caring mentorship of a child? Thanks Bob.

Michael McIntyre

OMG What a shock to hear of Prof. Byrnes passing. He always was one to make me laugh. When he brought me his textbooks orders, he was inevitably late but would try to make up for this by bringing me treats, like a muffin & coffee or chocolates. He had a great presence & always seemed to be in a very positive & happy place in life. He has left me with wonderful happy memories of our conversations & I will never forget his boisterous laugh. Rest In Peace.

Alicia Topor

I am shocked and saddened to hear about Bob's passing. When I first began teaching in the Rhetoric department, many years ago, I had occasion to go to my first department meeting, and I remember meeting Bob. He arrived fashionably late with a scarf tossed jauntily around his neck and wearing gloves. He had no coat on even though it was a cooler day. I thought he was very interesting and I was not wrong. Bob had a larger than life personality. It took me awhile to get to know him. He had such a way with words and a dry wit that made me laugh so many times. He was also so cheerful whenever I encountered him in the hallways, the office, or on the street. I always looked forward to seeing him when I went to work. He never disappointed me by not having an opinion on a current event. He was that kind of person. I will miss him.

Karen Soiferman

What incredibly sad news. I will remember Bob Byrnes as a popular and charismatic teacher, an inquisitive mind who loved a spirited debate, and a gracious colleague who treated me to lunch countless times. His presence will be missed. May he rest in peace.

Jason Hannan

I'll miss you Bob. We had some great discussions and debates about all sorts of ideas and subjects. You were always open to new ideas, including ones that were different from you own; you reminded me well of what universities are for.

Malcolm Bird

Robert Byrnes was treasured for his good-humoured irreverence and rants against the tyranny of political correctness. I admired the breadth of his reading and intellect. He respected good minds and passionate opinions when they reflected clear thinking. He was truly/madly/deeply a Professor of our university - unique and irreplaceable.

HARRY STRUB

Robert Byrnes was a spectacular lecturer and one of my very favourite professors. I would intentionally take multiple classes taught by him because they were very interesting and engaging. He had so much knowledge to share and he encouraged introspective learning. Being his student changed my life in terms of how I understand the world and the books that I read till date. I will always remember him as my prof that used a flip phone and had a laughter that could be easily identified as his.

You will be missed dearly. My sincere condolences and prayers to the family and friends of Rob.

Naomi Dutse

I had the pleasure of taking professor Byrnes' New Journalism course at the University of Winnipeg just last year. What a great class!

Prof. Byrnes was an incredibly sharp and engaging lecturer and I'll certainly remember him for a long time as one of the most passionate and dedicated individuals I have ever met.

Declan Schroeder

My first time meeting Robert was on September 2013. I enjoyed his presence as a professor right away. He had me hooked throughout all of the courses that he taught me. Always intriguing and providing a different kind of perspective for his students. He was understanding and was always wanting to help out any way he could. RIP Robert Byrnes.

Shkelzen Miskiqi

I only had one class with Mr. Byrnes this last winter. I actually looked up his name this semester to see if there were anymore I could take! I refer back to his class, Rhetoric of Romantic Autobiographies all the time and it truly changed the way I write and read. He was a brilliant prof, one of the few that truly change your life and I’m really happy to have gotten to learn from him.

Lily O’Donnell

It is hard to believe this vital man is gone. So often, right at 4:30, when my brain had gone to mush and I needed to stop work and go home, he would come into my office, lounge in the chair in front of my desk, and ask me something deeply personal, but enlarged to encompass some huge psychological/philosophical issue. We would be off...debating passionately. He had a provocative way of beginning a discussion that never failed to lead to interesting and surprising insights into myself and the topic at hand. I'm so sorry that he's left us, but, no matter what his beliefs about possible afterlives, I believe his energy continues to rocket around the universe.

Cathleen Hjalmarson

I am very sad to hear about Prof. Byrnes’ passing. I took his Academic Writing class almost 20 years ago and vividly remember our classroom discussions which so often were of a philosophical nature. Prof. Byrnes liked to play devil’s advocate to get a point across, engaging us students in heated debates. He remained one of my favourite professors.

Rest In Peace, Prof. Byrnes!

Walburga Bshouty

I first met Dr Byrnes in 2010 as a new student at the University of Winnipeg. His classes were always engaging, and he actively fostered lively and passionate discussion. He had a wicked sense of curiosity and seemed to revel in seeing the same grow in his students.

Over the years, Dr Byrnes would always say hello and chat in the hallways. He had a great mind that sped from one interesting thought to the next. He was a remarkably special professor, and a lovely human. I'll miss him. Sincere condolences to his family and friends.

Victoria King

I will miss Bob very much. Every Thursdays we used to have a round table meeting at the Riddell Hall Cafeteria in the University of Winnipeg. These conversations and debates were very enriching for me. Bob was a great friend, a real scholar with a deep knowledge and a mature understanding. I will always remember him.

Ahmet Seyhun

I can't say how sad Bob's passing has made me. Through all the years we worked together, I counted on Bob to be thought-provoking and good-humored and, above all and most important of all, deeply committed to his students. He was one of a kind. Rest in peace, Bob.

Sheila Page

I worked in the Boiler Room at U of W. Occasionally in the evening if the temperature in the room he was teaching in was not right he would call and after I had corrected the situation he would introduce me to his class with a flourish I didn’t think I deserved. He always stopped to talk if we met in the hallway and never forgot my name. He always had a big smile on his face, he will be missed.

Gil Pelletier

This is such sad news. Bob and I joined the then-Writing Program at the same time, and I soon came to admire his passion for ideas and his love of teaching, which never waned over his 30-year career at the University of Winnipeg. His was an outsized personality, with voice and laugh to match. But what I will remember most about Bob is how kind and generous a friend he was. Years ago, over the course of several holiday dinners, he interviewed my parents on camera, asking irreverent but affectionate questions to draw them out, and then put together a video for me. What a priceless gift!

The world is a less colourful place with his passing. Rest in peace, Bob.

Judith Kearns

I was deeply saddened to hear of Bob's death. Our friendship began even before I took up a position at the University, when a big, bearded redhead in the back row posed a question after my candidate presentation, then followed up with one of those room-filling laughs we all remember so well. Over the years we had countless, often very intense conversations, not only about books and ideas (on which we rarely agreed) but also about childhood, family, and life as a university professor. My fondest memories, though, are of the boyish side to Bob that I think few people saw -- like our evening at a Jets game in the early nineties, where we spent the first intermission, then the entire second period, outside the arena, throwing snowballs at a CBC van; and our visit to Spirit Sands, years later, where we walked and talked for hours in the summer heat before foolishly deciding to climb a dune, only to collapse halfway up in exhaustion and laughter.

He was, as others have said so well, a big presence and a big-hearted man. Judith and I will miss him much.

Brian Turner

I don’t know if I can find the words to say goodbye to someone who has been my best friend and “big brother” for the last 40 years. Throughout my adult life, Bob has been my moral compass and voice of reason in a sometimes crazy world. He had a way of defining every issue in terms of its psychological and sociobiological essence, generating stimulating and provocative discussions ranging from literature to politics and philosophy. His intelligence and breadth of knowledge were astounding! He was equally astonishing when it came to assessing people. He saw things at a glance that it took most of us more time to see. We had a ritual of calling one another on Christmas Eve to catch up on the year. He would discuss the topics for his next semester’s classes, and I would realize how fortunate his students were to have such a wonderful instructor. This Christmas Eve, for the first time in over 40 years, my phone will be silent, and I will begin the New Year grieving that Bob is not a part of it.

Francine Perrin

There are certain people who need to be in this world, and knowing they’re there is reassuring. Bob was one of those people. I met Bob in the 1970s in the commissary at CBS-TV in Los Angeles. I was eating lunch and reading something by Samuel Beckett. Bob, who was working as a stage hand while saving money to attend grad school at UCLA, swooped in behind me, peered over my shoulder and asked what I was reading. That began what would be one of the most important and transformative friendships of my life. The wonderful qualities that Bob’s friends, colleagues and students lovingly describe here in their remembrances of Bob were there in his younger years as well. Bob was always kind, caring, intelligent and curious — and he always had that warm voice and boisterous laugh. It was impossible to know Bob and not be greatly enriched by his friendship. I recently reconnected with Bob after decades of hearing about him only through my sister Francine. I wish there could have been many more years ahead for us to share, but I take pleasure in reading these remembrances and knowing what a profound influence Bob had on those he met. The world is most definitely a sadder place without Bob Byrnes.

Marilyn Perrin

Very sad to hear of Bob's passing today. He was a much-loved colleague of mine at the UW. He liked to come by my office in the English department to talk about James Joyce and Irish literature, Irish culture, writing, teaching, language, translation, all kinds of topics. I loved his lively mind, his big smile, and his occasional complaints, always given with a rather comical air of resignation about the way things were going in the world. I must have recommended his editing course to at least a hundred creative writing students. He really cared about teaching people to write, and his students appreciated that. Shared many lunches with him over the years, on campus and sometimes at the nearby Homer's restaurant. Just a great guy, who lightened up my day, any day he came around. Sincere condolences to his family. I am so very sorry for your loss.

Catherine Hunter

Visiting with Bob in the Riddell cafeteria was one of those things high on my after-pandemic bucket list. Sadly, Bob is not with us anymore, and there will be no more shooting of the you-know-what at those round tables. I see now how his time as a stagehand made him so much fun to be around. My condolences to his family.

Vaclav Linek

So many students and faculty members have written to pass along their warm memories of BOB. We will miss his vibrancy and his complete investment in life and ideas. He knew how to make a point, shake a hand and laugh out loud. He was also sensitive and kind. I believe so many of his students saw both sides at play and were moved by the power of his personality.

Jaqueline Rogers

Bob was a wonderful University of Winnipeg colleague and friend. For a number of years we were both members of a small, informal discussion group, a sort of humanities book club. We met irregularly in the early 2000s to have a meal and talk about fiction, myth, philosophy, theories of mind, and the like. The last book we discussed was Zunshine's Why We Read Fiction. Bob was always up for a good dispute about post-modernism and what he saw as a pervasive decline in literacy. I am certain he was a terrific teacher of lucid writing and thinking. Whenever our paths crossed, even after I was long retired, he always greeted me like a long-lost friend. I will miss him.

Linda Dietrick

I was a colleague at Rhetoric. I am sorry for your loss. He will be missed.

Ryan Clement

Bob was a loving son and brother. He was gregarious, had a wicked wit, a sharp mind and more importantly, a kind heart. I have fond memories of his generosity, his sage advice and his genuine love of family when we visited with him in California. We were pleased when he returned to his Canadian roots to teach at the University of Winnipeg. We are proud of his accomplishments, we loved him and we will miss him and his booming laughter. Rest in peace, dearest cousin.

Linda Carrey

It’s hard to find words that tell the pain of losing a friend, but we keep trying to make up for the sudden silence and share our sadness. I met Bob 15 years ago, on a curriculum committee where we formed the project of introducing a James Joyce course. His enthusiasm, in his words, for “the great adventure” of teaching Joyce, led to a course and Honours seminar, that we shared three times. We would talk over course content and discuss the wonderful students’ essays. I discovered that Bob was a superlative, Socratic teacher. He was so loved and admired by his students! Teaching with him really was an intellectual adventure, with his boundless knowledge of Joyce and ground-breaking interpretations. Since then, our dialogue continued, about Homer, evolutionary psychology, and world events. I will miss his true friendship and the joy of his conversation, in beautiful English, or in his poised, elegant French. Dear Bob, rest in peace. May your kind spirit live on, “unheeded, happy and near to the wild heart of life.

Liliane Rodriguez

How saddened we all were to hear of Bob's passing and we will miss him dearly. In one of my classes I was teaching one term, the topic we were talking about one day was teachers that had a big impact on the students. The most often mentioned teacher that had an impact on the students in that class was Bob Byrnes. The students shared incident after incident that highlighted what an amazing educator Bob was. Farewell dear colleague.

Helen Friesen

That photo of Bob crashed into my heart....

I can almost hear what he’d have to say about the latest Trump news!

Cathleen Hjalmarson

Over the years, I signed up for as many of his courses as I could. He brought me to Didion and eventually to my own voice. Thank you, Coach, for expecting wonders and growth. Your classroom was my first at the U of W; years later, when I sought more education, your classroom was also my last. My academic bookends. I'm proud to have been on your Team.

Christine Lachance