ENGINEER and father-of-three Robert Rooney has passed away at home after a short illness at the age of 84.

Known as Bob to his family and friends, he leaves behind his wife Mary, three daughters Jane, Rebecca and Isabel, his sons-in-law Michael, Andrew and Jim, and eight grandchildren Ben, Sophia, William, Maria, Ellen, Alexander, Francesca and Harry.

Bob passed away at his home near Raglan surrounded by his family on 12th September. It was a home he had lived in for nearly 50 years and he loved the natural beauty of the Monmouthshire countryside.

He moved to the Kingcoed area with his young family in 1977 when his career took him from the steel foundries of Sheffield to the valleys of South Wales, where for 20 years he ran a factory in Tredegar which made stainless steel exhausts.

He was born in the mining town of Leigh in Lancashire in 1940 and had an older brother Jack. His childhood was a happy one, and although he remembered post-war rationing, he told many tales of exploits which sounded like adventures from The Beano.

His daughters remember him confessing how he and his friends would hide behind the bedroom curtain and fire peashooters at passers-by or pinch lemonade bottles from the back of the pub and take them round the front to claim the tuppence deposit.

The sense of fun and mischief stayed with him throughout his life and his grandchildren loved his grandad jokes and impersonations of hens laying golden eggs.

He was a talented musician too, he could improvise and play the piano by ear, and would play his favourite tunes, with his daughters singing the Beatles and Elvis as he played along.

He met his wife Mary at a dance in their home town of Leigh and they married in 1963. As Bob pursued his career in engineering, starting off as an apprentice draughtsman with the DeHavilland Aircraft Company, Mary followed her career as a teacher.

They went on to have three daughters Jane, Rebecca and Isabel and moved with Bob’s work from Lancashire, to Yorkshire and finally to Wales.

Early retirement enabled Bob to give more time to the things he loved – his wife, his family and golf. He and Mary did a lot of travelling and had many happy holidays abroad, including long vacations on the west coast of Florida.

Golf was a big part of his life and he was a founder member of the Rolls of Monmouth Golf Club at The Hendre. He loved the course there and really valued the friendships he made on and off the fairway.

He was thrilled to achieve an astonishing three “holes in one” in his golfing career, though he said it cost him dearly at the bar. He regularly played fixtures as a member of the “Vintage Rollers” which he really enjoyed.

Bob was tremendously proud of his family and loved spending time with his daugters, sons-in-law and grandchildren, whether celebrating birthdays or debating politics, watching classic films or taking them for a ride in his golf buggy.

He was intelligent, funny, feisty and loving. He will be greatly missed.

The funeral is at Llandenny Church on Monday October 6 2025 at 12.30pm with interment at Usk Castle Chase natural burial meadow, followed by a wake in Usk.

Details of funeral arrangements can be found on Tovey’s of Usk website, along with information on how to make a donation to St David’s Hospice, whose nursing team helped care for Bob so well in his final days.