OBORNE, J. Ross

Jul 03, 2013

(July 1, 1915 - June 28, 2013)

Ross Oborne, son of Alfred Ross Oborne, the founder of the Loon Lake Colony in 1922, was 7 years old for his first visit to what became Skootamatta Lake.  He and his family celebrated his July 1st birthday, continuously to 2012, except for the WWII war years and this July 1st.  A seasonal resident for 90 years, he knew and worked with many of the local families, some of which helped his father build many of the first 25 cottages on the Lake-   Mike Schwager, the Bey brothers, many of the Andrew Meeks family and helpers-and friends Merrill Dennison and Ted Snider- as well as many lifelong friends on the Lake whose families are still occupying their original cottages.  Ross was the last of the initial Loon Lake Colonists from the ‘20s. A successful businessman in Toronto and then Montreal, he spent his holidays continuing to improve the functioning and appearance of the original family cottage on Oborne Island for most of his working career. This effort has resulted in 3 cottages occupied by his 3 children on the original 5 acre property. He became very active in the community upon retirement in 1975, with he and his wife Bette spending the May to October period at the Lake.  He was President of the Lake Association for many years in the ‘50s to the ‘70s, a supporter of the Friends of Bon Echo, the local Museum and occasionally gave lectures at the High School in Cloyne, usually in full regalia as a Colonel in the 78th Fraser Highlanders historic regiment. He will be missed by his children-Jim (Winnipeg), David (Toronto)and Lynn (St Lazare, QC), his 10 grand children and 21 g-grandchildren who, hopefully, will continue to come to the Lake that he loved so much for generations to come.