Plane crash claims ‘exemplary citizens and philanthropists’
Joe, Anita and daughter Laura Robertson crash near Greenville, Maine, airport
A plane crash in Maine has claimed the lives of three members of a philanthropic family from Niagara.
Police in Greenville, Maine, have confirmed Joe and Anita Robertson of Niagara-on-the-Lake, both 58, and their daughter Laura, 24, died Monday after their plane, a twin-engined Aerostar, crashed on approach to Greenville Municipal Airport at 10:55 a.m.
The crash is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board.
The Robertsons are known for their philanthropic contributions to Niagara. In addition to leading campaigns with United Way of St. Catharines and District, they have made significant donations to a wide variety of causes, including Niagara Health and FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, where the Robertson Theatre is named in honour of their $500,000 contribution.
Joe Robertson was chair of Brock University’s board of trustees from 2012 to 2014 and was a founding chair
of the board of the Niagara Jazz Festival, from 2013 to 2015.
Carman Adair, a business associate and longtime friend of the family, said he is saddened by the news. Adair had just welcomed Robertson as a partner, and president and CEO, of Amax Health, as of July 26, a company news release said. The pair had worked together as partners in a dental business, Arcona Health Inc., before selling to Henry Schein Inc. in 1998, staying on as executives with the company until retiring from full-time positions in 2006.
“We are all saddened by the tragic death of Joe Robertson, his wife Anita and their daughter Laura yesterday,” Adair said from British Columbia. “Joe was a great person, great father, great husband, a close friend, prominent businessman.”
The couple also had two sons, Clark and Taylor. Laura was the youngest child.
The Robertsons, Adair said, were “exemplary citizens and philanthropists in the Niagara region.”
“They touched hundreds of people in a positive way. They will be sorely missed by many, many people,” said Adair.
Brock University officials, in a statement issued Tuesday, said Joe had not only been a former board of trustees chair, but Laura had just been hired days earlier to work in the school’s athletics and recreation department.
“One cannot understate the enormous contribution Joe Robertson made to Brock University both as chair of the board and a passionate supporter of the university at every turn,” board chair Gary Comerford said in a statement.
Niagara-on-the-Lake fire Chief Robert Grimwood said Laura recently completed the recruit training program with Niagaraon-the-Lake Fire and Emergency Services.
She had joined the fire service in January, spending six months training alongside the 2018 recruit class, he said.
“She had demonstrated a strong commitment to serving her community as a volunteer firefighter and expressed on many occasions how much she was enjoying being a firefighter and being part of our team,” said Grimwood. “Laura will be deeply missed by those she served with at Station 1 … and the rest of our fire department who had the opportunity to serve with her.”
United Way of St. Catharines and District chairman Peter Partridge Jr. said staff and volunteers are deeply saddened by the news.
“Anita was an integral part of our organization. A longstanding volunteer, she led the 2015 campaign as campaign chair, only to continue on as a board member and dear friend. This past year Anita was instrumental in bring together the three United Ways (agencies in Niagara),” said Partridge. “She was incredibly organized, committed, prepared and passionate and was such a hard working volunteer.
“If you were fortunate enough to have known Joe and Anita you know that their compassion was unmatched.”
St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik, in a statement, said the family will live on through the causes they supported, including the performing arts centre, where they were seat owners and regular patrons of performances.
“Joe and Anita were very kind and generous people who cared deeply about making our community more caring and inclusive,” said Sendzik. “They instilled these values into their children and their spirit will carry on through the many charities, foundations and causes they’ve so thoughtfully supported: the arts, music, health care, education and many others through the United Way.”
The FAA, in a brief statement, said the plane — registered to Joe Robertson — departed from Pembroke Airport in Pembroke, Ont., and was headed to Charlottetown Airport in Prince Edward Island, where the Robertsons were due to visit friends.
Flight records from Flight Aware, a global aviation software company that offers free flighttracking, show the plane had made the trip from St. Catharines to Pembroke three times since July 21, including July 27.
The plane left Pembroke at about 9:05 a.m. Monday, before crashing an hour and 50 minutes later at the Greenville airport. Reports from media in Maine indicate the plane appeared to be having difficulty just before it crashed.