RONALD FOTHERINGHAM ROBERTSON, 95, of Huntsville, AL, went to be eternally with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on May 20, 2025.
A service praising God for Mr. Robertson’s life will be held Tuesday, May 27, 2025 at Grace Community Church, 4554 Research Park Blvd NW, Huntsville, AL. The service will begin at 11:00 a.m. The family will receive visitors from 10:00 a.m. A private family burial will follow at Huntsville Memorial Gardens.
Mr. Robertson was born to Scottish parents in London, England, on August 4, 1929. As a child, he was separated from his siblings and evacuated to the English countryside at the beginning of World War II, living at a large manor in Reading and then a small family home in Cambridgeshire. On completing secondary education, Mr. Robertson trained to be a woodworking teacher.
At the end of the war, Mr. Robertson traveled to mainland Europe to assist with rebuilding efforts, only to be arrested on his return to England for failing to respond to military orders that had arrived while he was gone. Mr. Robertson subsequently served in the Military Police for the British Army, working as a motorcycle dispatch rider.
Following his military service, Mr. Robertson decided to self-teach himself finance and accounting, perceiving that it would be a better career path in the post-war global economy. On completing his certifications, Mr. Robertson began working with Coutts & Company in London, before taking a job with Barclays Bank that took him around the world for the remainder of his career, with recurring tours of duty across Africa and the Caribbean with extended residencies in Kenya, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, the Cayman Islands, eventually settling in Bermuda.
Having been raised in a home where faith and church attendance were rarely discussed or prioritized, it was during his second tour of duty in Trinidad that God opened Mr. Robertson’s eyes to the transforming power of the Gospel. Mr. Robertson could not explain the complete change he observed in the lives of a couple with whom he would often stay and discovered they had come to Christ as a result of the Billy Graham crusade in Trinidad. Mr. Robertson sought to know more, began reading his Bible, attending church, and soon after put his trust in Christ as his Savior. His desire for the world died and Mr. Robertson began a life of faithful service to the Church and missions that would mark the rest of his life.
In 1977, Mr. Robertson returned to England to join a tour leaving for Israel. While at London’s Heathrow airport, Mr. Robertson was introduced by a mutual friend, John Blanchard, to his darling Pam. After two weeks of getting to know each other in Israel, Mr. Robertson sent Pam an airline ticket to visit him in Bermuda, where he proposed. They married in Rochester, England, on April 22, 1978. Not expecting to have children, Mr. Robertson considered it a blessing that God gave him a son, Peter Thomas, in 1981 at the age of 51.
While Mr. Robertson retired from Barclays in 1986 and the family returned to Cheltenham, England, he never retired from serving others and Mr. Robertson gave countless hours as an elder at Hatherley Evangelical Church, as the clerk of the Woodmancote Parish Council, and as the secretary and treasurer of the Woodmancote Society.
Mr. Robertson and his wife moved to the United States in 2009 to live with Peter and their daughter-in-law, Danielle. Mr. Robertson was a faithful member at Cornerstone Bible Church, Xenia OH and later Grace Community Church, Huntsville AL where he was a continual encouragement to many.
Mr. Robertson cried with joy at the birth of his first grandchild in 2011 and was blessed to live long enough to hold four more. Until his homegoing, Mr. Robertson was first and foremost a godly husband, father, and grandfather who led his wife in daily devotionals and prayed regularly for his grandchildren’s salvation.
Mr. Robertson loved to keep abreast of world news and read the English broadsheet newspaper, the Daily Telegraph, cover to cover everyday for over 70 years. He was rarely rivaled in general knowledge quizzes or trivia, and would refuse to go to bed until he had completed numerous daily puzzles including the Telegraph’s cryptic crossword, Sudoku, and the New York Times’ Wordle. He loved to sit and read to his grandchildren on his lap.
Mr. Robertson is preceded in death by his parents, Mrs. Rachel Robertson (née Bairner) and Mr. Thomas Robertson, his older brother Jack Robertson, his twin sister Jean Allen, and his younger brother Neil (Pamela) Robertson.
Mr. Robertson is survived by his wife Pamela Robertson (née Last); his son Peter (Danielle) Robertson of Huntsville, AL; and five grandchildren: Caleb, Anna, Noah, Matthias, and Bethany.
Memorial donations in lieu of flowers may be made to the Grace Community Church (Huntsville, AL) Legacy of Grace fund.
