Robert (Bob) WILLIS

What a wonderful chorus of gratitude and praise for such a fine man and his life well lived. Word has just now reached New York's back woods of his passing, and we send our condolences and sympathy to the family on the loss of such a warm, wise, and witty patriarch. I never knew him well, but always left our occasional encounters impressed by his kindness and humor. Bravo!

Sincere condolences on the passing of Bob, fond memories from struggling with the merrytiller around the Gorseland plot as a first job to dropping Betty to Foxrock for her weekly chat with Elaine, RIP.

Sorry to hear of the passing of Bob, sincere condolences to Linda, Erica, Neil and family. RIP

Linda. So sorry to hear the sad news about your wonderful dad. Sincere condolences to you and the family.

I offer my most sincere condolences to the extended Willis family upon the untimely death of Bob recently. Bob was always a pleasure to converse with about his career as an actuary and in the world of finance. I also loved to hear about his sporting pursuits while sailing or golfing after church over a good cup of strong coffee. I hope that he will now find Eternal Peace with Elaine up in Heaven.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis!

The last of the class of '45!
It was a great pleasure to meet Bob & various family members over the years at Christmas commons, with our dad Arthur, another of that vintage. Sending sympathies & best wishes to you all from the Jolleys. Shirley, Janet & Meriel)

My Deepest Sympathy to the Willis Family on the passing of Bob.

Such a huge huge loss. Our sincere condolences to you all, Linda, Erica and Neil, and all the extended Willis family. The story of how Bob first met mum’s family all those years ago will remain a family favourite. Much love from us all.

To Neil and Jillian and the Willis family - sending my condolences to you on the passing of you father. A life to be celebrated and may he rest in peace.

Heartfelt condolonces to the Willis Family on the passing on of Bob.

Very sorry to just hear this sad news of Bob‘s passing. We will miss him very much . He was joyful and cheerful and full of zest for life which was inspirational. The chats with Bob gladdened the heart and brightened the day always.
Condolences to you all.

Linda. Please accept my deepest sympathy on the death of your father at the wonderful age of 100. A life well lived. May he now Rest In Peace.

Sincere condolences to the Willis family on the passing of a great man, who did so much to develop Irish Life and the actuarial profession in Ireland.

Linda Neil Erica & all the extended family - we are both so very sorry to hear of the passing of our great friend Bob who was always so kind generous & great fun - we enjoyed many fun nights together with himself & Elaine over the years - we will miss him - May his gentle soul rest in peace - Marie & Ted

My sincere sympathy and condolences to the Willis family on the passing of Robert when working in Dublin he was always very friendly and and restive also a true gentleman both in the office and golf course. May his soul Rest in Peace.

To Neil, Jillian, Emma, Mark and Kate, I am very sorry to hear of your loss. Thinking of you all. RIP x

I was very sorry to hear about Mr Willis. But, 101 years! What a great life to have been blessed with.

I started working in Irish Life in 1973 when Mr Willis was Managing Director. He was highly respected not just in Irish Life, but across the entire financial services industry. He would occasionally address employees during staff presentations. He was a very fine speaker and I always looked forward to hearing what he had to say. During one such presentation he succinctly summarised Irish Life’s mission with the statement, “We are in business to pay claims”. These words stuck with me forever. As a then recent recruit still trying to figure out the many complexities of Irish Life, it brought home to me what the company was really all about: caring for customers in their times of need.

Mr Willis was a real gentleman. He would always have a friendly greeting for you if he passed you in the building. And despite Irish Life being, at the time, spread over a number of buildings across Dublin 4, he would always make a point of visiting all teams on Christmas Eve to personally wish everybody a happy Christmas.

My condolences to his family and friends.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

Brian Banfield
Retired Irish Life employee

Sincerest condolences to all the family. I was priviliged to meet Mr Willis as an 18 year old secretary in Irish Life ... he was so kind and encouraging as us youngsters started out on our careers in the company. May he rest in peace.

So sorry to hear the sad news about your dad. Keeping you all in my thoughts. Condolences Judy

Erica, sincerest condolences to you and your family on your father's passing.

Erica , thinking about you especially at this very personal time. Much love from penny and I. xxoo

Deepest condolences on the passing of Bobby. He has been known most of my days as he was a great friend of my brother( also a Bob) through Scouts. Always so smart and fun to be with. May he rest in peace.

Sincere sympathy to the Willis family on the passing of their beloved father. Thinking of the family at this very difficult time. Robert was a true gentleman and a pleasure to work with.

It is with much regret that we heard of the passing of our esteemed Member, Bob. He was a Member of the Royal Irish Yacht Club for over 60 years, and he will be sadly missed in the Club. Our deepest sympathies go to his family during this difficult time.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam

We would like to extend our condolences to all the Family. We both have very fond memories of Bob, and times spent together with our parents Pat & Ernie. Thinking of you all.

Very sorry to hear of Bobs passing. A lovely human being.

So sad to hear of Bob’s passing. What a wonderful age to achieve. My dad often talked so fondly of Bob. He will be there to greet him at the pearly gates. May his gentle soul rest in peace

What a great innings. I remember him fondly from my early days in Irish Life. To say he was “a gentleman “ is insufficient praise. May he rest in peace.

I am so saddened to learn of Bob's passing. He was such an awe-inspiring man; not afraid of a challenge; never defined by his age; never down in the mouth. He was always gorgeous company, interested, interesting - and always sharp as a tack! He had a mind that anyone would be envious of! We will dearly miss him.

My deepest sympathies to his family at this heartbreaking time. May he rest in peace.

My sincere condolences to the Willis family on the passing of your father.
I joined Irish Life in 1972 and whenever our paths crossed either at work or on the golf course he was a true gentleman and lovely to talk to. May he rest in peace.

Neil, sorry to hear of your dads passing.I m sure you have lots of great memories from his long life.

My sincere sympathy to the Willis family on the sad passing of Robert a gentleman and a grate M.D may his gentle soul rest in peace

As both an actuary and as past pupil of the High School Dublin I am very saddened to hear about the death of Bob.

Bob was an inspiration to many generations of actuaries. I had the pleasure of meeting with him at the actuarial convention late last year and exchanging some stories on both High School and mutual actuarial topics of interest.

At the event, Bob’s speech was both witty and inspirational to many new generations of actuaries who hadn’t had the pleasure of encountering him before.

Condolences to the family at this sad time.

I am writing on behalf of the school community to offer my sincere condolences following the death of Robert (Bob) Willis. I should like to extend our deepest sympathies to Linda, Neil, and Erica as well as other members of the immediate and extended family.

We recall with pride and affection that Bob was a distinguished past pupil of The High School. He made a significant contribution to the life of the school as President of the Old Boys’ Union in 1961-62 before being appointed a Governor of the Schools founded by Erasmus Smith Esquire. It was in this capacity that he served on the Board of Governors at The High School for the remarkable period of 50 years during which time he served as Chairman between 1984-90.

The High School will always have good reason to be thankful for the fact that Bob chose to dedicate a significant proportion of his wide-ranging expertise to this institution where he is fondly remembered to this day. We remain grateful for his intelligent, insightful, generous, and supportive example in engaging with the generations of governors, staff, parents, and past pupils who will mourn his loss to the school community both now and in the future.

My deepest sympathy to all the family. Bob lived a long life and lived it well.

Sincere condolences to the Willis family from the staff and students of Dublin City University. His legacy at the Society of Actuaries has made a difference for generations of actuarial students and their teachers.

Deepest condolences to the Willis family on Bob's passing.

All past, current and future actuaries in Ireland owe him a debt of gratitude for his seminal contribution to the profession.

Saddened to hear of the passing of Bob Willis.
Deepest sympathy to all his family.
May he rest in peace.

Jimmy Carr.
Former Irish Life Rep.

It is with a deep sense of sadness that I have learned of Bob's sad passing. Bob was my first ultimate boss when I joined Irish Life as a student actuary in 1967. His leadership was inspirational then and remained so throughout his long and distinguished career. He always had time for people and his infectious positivity had such an influence throughout so many aspects of Irish commercial life. Bob will be very sadly missed by all who were privileged to know him. May he rest in peace.

Condolence on the passing of Bob. He was a thorough gentleman and a pleasure to work with.

So sorry to hear this sad news. At the annual convention of the Society of Actuaries in Ireland last year, we celebrated Bob’s 100th birthday. He gave a wonderful speech - his intelligence and wit shone through and it was truly inspirational. The actuarial profession is indebted to Bob for his enormous contribution. May he rest in peace, and deepest condolences to all his family and loved ones.

I've fond memories of Bob becoming a partner of DCF upon his retirement from Irish Life in the late 1980's. A thorough gentleman from whom we learnt and took example. Sincere condolences to Bob's family.

Neill, Linda, Erica and the extended Willis family our deepest sympathy on the passing of your Dad. Really fond memories of our few days in France last June at Kate & Philip's wedding.He gave an amazing speech & thoroughly enjoyed all the celebrations.
May he rest in peace.

Deepest condolences to all of the Willis family on the passing of your Patriarch and the boss of Irish Life whom I joined as a youngster in 1969.
He was a great leader for a company that was so diverse at the time and helped greatly to propel it into a great company.

My late Dad W.A. (Liam) Honohan was a great pal and sparring partner of Bob Willis in the early days of actuaries in Ireland. He would have been impressed to learn that Bob would outlive him by more than a third of a century. He would want me to express the sympathy of the Honohans with Bob's family.

Very sad to learn of the passing of dear Mr. Willis, I have such wonderful happy memories of working so closely with him as his PA in Irish Life for very many years. My heartfelt condolences to Linda, Erica and Neil and families at this difficult and sad time. May he Rest In Peace.

Very sorry to hear of your loss. Our sincere condolences to all the family.

So sorry to hear of the passing of Mr Willis. Deepest sympathy and condolence to all his family. He was a true gentleman and I was very fortunate to work under his guidance in Irish Life. May he rest in peace. Shalom!

Mary I. Conlon
Pensioners Liaison Officer.

Sincere condolences to all Bob's family I have fond memories of working with him Irish Life