Robert Sharp Toronto

Robert Sharp Toronto was born on November 28, 1936, to Wallace Felt and Martha Sharp Toronto in Prague, Czechoslovakia. His parents were missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS Church). Always known as Bob, he was the second of six children: Marion (deceased); Bob; Carol (deceased); Judy, Allen and David.

The missionary experience was central throughout Bob’s life—containing both marvelous and terrifying experiences for him and his family. When he was three his mother looked out the window of their apartment and saw to her horror that he was down on the street, goose-stepping with the Nazi soldiers. Alone with three toddlers, she escaped Nazi-occupied Prague to await in Denmark, hoping their father was still alive.

The family returned to Prague when Bob was ten and again narrowly escaped as the Communists assumed control of much of Eastern Europe. They settled in Salt Lake City, Utah where Bob attended grade school, high school and college at the University of Utah. He then served a mission in the Samoan Islands—a blessed contrast to the stark and menacing atmosphere of war-torn Europe.

Bob completed a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. His consulting firm—Robert Toronto and Associates—served clients in southeastern Michigan including Ford Motor Company, Edwards’ Brothers, Ren Likert Associates and others. He also taught organizational behavior at the University of Michigan Dearborn Campus.

His role as husband and father has consistently occupied his love and attention. He and his wife, Ellen L. Kaylor Toronto, are the parents of four sons—Aaron, Matthew, Daniel and David. They have been married for 57 years and have eleven grandchildren: Joe, Isaac, Kaylor, Clementine, Sky, Ruth, Anna, William, Gwen, Molly and Charlie.

Bob’s faith in the Lord Jesus Christ has been a beacon to all. In the LDS church, he has served as teacher, missionary, branch president and bishop’s counselor. His role as husband and father has also been central to his life as advocate, role model, and enthusiastic participant in soccer, homework, skiing, hiking, and adventure. As we mourn his passing, his great heart will be a light to all who knew him.

“His life was gentle and the elements so mixed in him that nature might stand up and say to all the world, ‘This was a man!’ Shakespeare: Julius Caesar, Act, 5, Scene 5.