We regret to advise of the death of Major Robert Morris Louis "Bob" Weisman, CD (Ret'd) on 26 March 2024 in Ottawa at the age 69 years.
Bob was born in Montreal QC where he grew up as an active and curious child who enjoyed scouting, cadets, and soccer. He was a lifelong student with a passion for military history, the arts, culture, and languages. Bob spoke three fluently (English, French and Dutch) alongside studies in German and Latin.
Bob aspired to be a history student and teacher, but life's circumstances conspired otherwise and led him to pursue Civil Engineering studies. He joined the Canadian Forces as a Regular Officer Training Plan member in 1971 at the Collège Militaire Royale de St Jean. He finished his studies at the Royal Military College in Kingston ON with the Class of 1976.
During his military career, Bob moved throughout Eastern Canada. His first posting after receiving his Commision was as a Troop Commander in 5e Régiment Génie de Combat (5 RGC) in Valcartier QC. Bob fell in love with the Canadian North during this posting when he was working on our Northern Airfields project in Spence Bay (Taloyoak, NU).
Following his 5 RGC tour, Bob was posted to the Base Construction Engineering Section at Canadian Forces Base Chatham NB before moving to Force Mobile Command Headquarters in St Hubert QC. After FMC HQ, Bob returned to 5 RGC, where he served as the Regimental Operations Officer.
Bob completed a Master's degree in computer science at RMC in 1992. He found his passion for teaching when he next taught at RMC. He was then posted to National Defence Headquarters and worked in several directorates where he was a decision support researcher and a command and control portfolio manager responsible for the development of strategic direction and management of information technology and resources.
Bob retired from the Canadian Forces in 1999 with the rank of Major after 27 years of service to the Canadian Military Engineers and the Canadian Armed Forces.
Bob was a leader and innovator in the fields of planning, enterprise architecture, and knowledge management, with significant contributions to the TOGAF (The Open Group Architecture Framework ) standard, an open methodology for enterprise architecture. After he retired from the military, Bob continued to work as a consultant, enterprise architecture lead, and chief information architect, and he launched his own company, "Build The Vision."
While in Ottawa, Bob continued his love of education, obtaining his PhD in digital transformation and innovation from the University of Ottawa in 2019. He subsequently taught at U of O as a part-time professor and an engineer-in-residence until his passing.
The family is making a memory book. If you would like to share, please send some of your memorable times with Bob in an email .
A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, 19 May, 2024, at 3:00pm at the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa [30 Cleary Avenue}. Please RSVP by 5 May 2024 with this LINK
