Obituary of Reginald A. Sinclair

It is with great sadness that the family of Reginald Alexander Sinclair announces his death, which occurred on Thursday, November 14, 2013 at the age of 88 in Rothesay, New Brunswick, following a brief illness. He was a wonderful husband, father, son, brother and friend. Reg was born March 6, 1925 in Lachine, Quebec and was the youngest of Elizabeth Clelland Sinclair and James Taylor Sinclair's four children. Reg grew up in Montreal and excelled at sports, especially hockey, and was a member of numerous City and Provincial Championship teams. In 1943, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. While stationed in Calgary for pilot training he met the love of his life, the beautiful Ronnie Bloom, and there began a lifelong love affair. After his discharge from the Air Force, Reg attended McGill University where he played varsity hockey for four years. Reg was the captain of the McGill Redmen and still holds 5 scoring records. He was twice inducted into McGill's Sports Hall of Fame, as a team member and also as an individual player. He was a member of the Phi Kappa Pi fraternity. Reg graduated with a Commerce degree in 1949 and he and Ronnie were married on May 27, 1950. They moved to New York City where he played for the New York Rangers for two years and where their first child, Jim, was born in December of 1951. Reg was chosen as a member for both the 1951 and 1952 NHL All Star Teams. Reg decided to retire from hockey to pursue his business career but then an amazing offer to play for the Detroit Red Wings presented itself. He decided to play one more year and it was an amazing year where wonderful lifelong friendships were made. When he left the Red Wings it was to resume his career with Pepsi Cola who he had worked for during the off seasons. In 1953, their second child, Colleen, arrived and in 1958, their youngest child, Linda, arrived. For a number of years the young family called Beaconsfield, QC home. It was a special place to raise a family and many memories were made. In 1965, Reg was promoted to Vice President, Pepsi International in New York City and the family moved to Franklin Lakes, NJ. In 1967, Reg joined the Royal Crown Cola Company and the family moved again, this time to Chicago, and then onto Columbus, Georgia a number of years later. In the late 1970's Reg and Ronnie moved for the last time, to Rothesay, NB, where Reg became President and partner of Maritime Beverages Ltd., a Pepsi bottler, located in Saint John, New Brunswick. He loved his years at MBL and had huge respect for the people with whom he worked. Reg always enjoyed the soft drink business and he and Ronnie had the pleasure of travelling and making friends all over the world because of it. Among other community organizations, Reg was past President of the Saint John Board of Trade, a member of the board of the Children's Hospital in Halifax, coached the Rothesay Collegiate School hockey team, and was a founding member of the Montreal Canadiens Oldtimers team in the early the 1960's which raised money for the Children's Hospital. He was the only member asked to join the team who had never played for the Canadiens. He was a proud member of the Ken-Gents Oldtimers Hockey team in Rothesay. After retiring from Maritime Beverages, Reg enjoyed many rounds of golf with a special group of gentlemen at the Riverside Golf Club and spent time with Ronnie at their winter home in Savannah, Georgia where they had another wonderful group of friends. Above all, Reg loved his family and enjoyed being with them whenever he could. He was a role model to all of us and he will be terribly missed. Each of us feels so lucky to have called him our Dad and Grandpa. He was the definition of a gentleman and inspired us to love deeply, live honestly, and always play hard. Reg was predeceased by his parents, Elizabeth and James Sinclair, his sister Mae Elmslie, sister Jean Kerr, brother Seb and his much loved grandson, Michael Robinson Shaw. He is survived by Ronnie, his loving and devoted wife of 63 years, his children Jim (Carol) of Indianola, Iowa, Colleen (Greg) of Jupiter, Florida, Linda (Michael) of Calgary, AB and six grandchildren, Greg (Jen), Kevin, Taylor, Jesse, Amanda, and Kathryn, as well as many nieces and nephews, especially Betty Watt of Toronto who held a very special place in his heart. The Sinclair, Moroney and Shaw families would like to thank Anne Schnare for the many years of care she provided Dad. We would also like to thank Graham Macdougall, whose friendship to Reg, and the whole family, has been remarkable. Visitation will take place at Brenan’s Funeral Home, 111 Paradise Row, Saint John, on Friday, November 22, 2013 from 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm. The funeral service will be held on Saturday, November 23, 2013 at 1:00 PM from St. David's United Church, Rothesay. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to The Michael R. Shaw Outdoor Development Foundation, 1113 Valois Avenue SW, Calgary, AB T2T 1L4 or to the Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation, P.O. Box 2100, Saint John, NB E2L 4L2.