Robert McCleave HALIFAX, NS - Longest-serving Halifax MP, former judge and journalist dies at 81. Robert "Bob" Jardine McCleave, Q.C., D.C.L., of Halifax, NS and Rexton NB, died Friday, September 3, 2004 in Moncton after a brief illness. Born in Moncton, December 19, 1922, he was the son of Robert D. and Marjorie (née Jardine, later Thompson) McCleave. He earned his B.A. and LL.B. from Dalhousie University. Later, he received an honorary Doctor of Civil Laws from the University of King's College. While still at university, he served as a reporter and editor at the Halifax Herald. Bob worked for the British United Press in Montreal, Halifax, Winnipeg and Ottawa. He was the first News Editor at CJCH during an era when that station has been described as the heartbeat of Halifax, and was Dean of the Maritime School of Journalism from 1955-1964. He also practised law for many years in Halifax. In 1957, he surprised many by running in the federal general election, by doing so as a Progressive Conservative, and by winning in the then dualmember riding of Halifax, along with his colleague, Edmund Morris. He was reelected in 1958 and 1962 and served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works. As co-chair of the Divorce Committee, he worked hard to achieve sorely needed reform of divorce law in the early sixties. He was defeated in 1963 but reelected in 1965 (with his colleague Mike Forrestall in the dual riding) and subsequently elected MP for Halifax-East Hants in the general elections of 1968, 1972 and 1974. He remains the longest serving Member of Parliament to represent all or part of the City of Halifax. That he was fair-minded rather than stridently partisan was recognized in the jobs he was called upon to undertake. In the minority parliament of 1972-74, he became the first opposition MP since the World War I era Unionist Government and the second since Confederation chosen to serve as Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons. In 1977, he left politics and was appointed a Provincial Court Judge by the Liberal government, serving until retirement in 1987. In the early 1980s, he chaired a public inquiry which recommended a moratorium on uranium mining in NS. From 1980 to 1990, he chaired the Nova Scotia Labour Relations Board. Bob McCleave enjoyed a rich family life, a game of golf (most of the time), cryptic crosswords (for which he was compiling a reference work at the time of his death) and 81 wonderful summers on the banks of the Richibucto River. He was a past Chairman of the Commonwealth Society, Past-Patron of the John Howard Society and a former President of the Halifax Branch of the Canadian Red Cross. He was a member of both the North British and Charitable Irish Societies. He loved books. His first wife Ruth L. (James) and his brother Harry died before him. He is survived by his second wife, Sylvia E. (Swan) of Halifax; children, Christine (John) Andrew, Halifax; Nicola (Harry) Collins (West Branch NB); Melissa (David) Furrow, Halifax; Rob (Siobhan Lane), Dartmouth; and Sarah (Brian Holmes), Belfast UK; step children Stephen (Helena) Beeler, Brampton On.; Joy Hebert and Susan (Stephen) Leadbetter, all of Fall River; his much-loved grandchildren (11) and step-grandchildren (6); his brother Hugh (Solange) Thompson, Rexton; several brothers- and sisters-in-law and nieces and nephews. A funeral service will be held at St. David's Presbyterian Church, Grafton St. Halifax, where Bob was an Elder for many years, on Wednesday, September 8, 2004 at 2:00 pm, followed by a reception in the church hall. Family interment will follow. Family flowers only, but please consider a donation to St. David's; Birch Cove United Baptist, Halifax; the Red Cross; an educational charity; or a charity of your choice. Un grand merci à tous aux Hpitaux Stella-Maris-de-Kent et Dr. Georges L.Dumont.