It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden death of Robert Herndlhofer, at the age of 69, in his beloved La Mata (Spain). But it is with joy and love and thanks that we remember his life, and all the times we spent together.

Please take some time to remember Robert and to share your memories of him with us. We do appreciate that many of you will not be able to attend the funeral service in La Mata, and that you will not be able to give your condolences to the family in person. However, this site is an opportunity to share some of your thoughts and memories, and to record your condolences. We hope you take the opportunity to use this as we would love to hear from you. Pelase forward the link -- www.justgiving.com/RobertHerndlhofer -- to people you know who knew Robert, so that everyone gets a chance to have a say. It can then be a marvellous tribute to Robert that we can all share over the months and years ahead.

As many of you may know, Robert's wife Gillian has been battling breast cancer for the last 12 months. Thankfully Gill got the all clear yeaterday -- which was marvelous news during this difficult time -- but we all know people who did not win their battle with cancer, and others who are still fighting. Therefore, we decided to use this tribute to Robert to help raise some money for MacMillan nurses, who do marvellous work for people suffering from cancer and their families. Please make a donation if you can.

Finally, for all the messages of suppot that we have already received and for all those that are to come we are sincerely thankful. It is at times like these that one understands the the most precious treasures of life: love and family and friendship. Robert understood this and tried to teach us this during his life. Many's the time we all sat around the kitchen table in the Pier Hotel long into the night, talking and laughing and telling stories ... usually through a haze of smoke and red wine! But they were great times, the best times in fact. Many people came and went from that table, and eventually the table went too. Now we have lost Robert. But our memories of Robert will live on in all of us who knew him, and we have that to hold onto.

Thank you.

The Herndlhofer Family

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A Brief Account of Robert's Life

Robert was born in 1940 in Austria and raised by his Great-Grandmother, Omama, in the small town of Hainburg. Times were hard for everyone in Austria during the war and in the years that followed.  Omama was a strong woman, fiercely independent and hard-working, but also very kind and loving.  She had a marvellous sense of humour and despite their hardship, Robert often spoke of happy times growing up. More than anything, Omama instilled in Robert a conviction that you had to make your own way in life, that nobody was going to "do it for you". 

Robert left school at the age of 14 and took an apprentiship as a pastry chef. Anyone who has seen Robert prepare food will understand why this career was doomed to failure, and it wasn't long before he switched to train as a waiter, a career which was tailor made for him: he was hard-working, enthusiastic and reliable, not to mention charming and handsome. He soon realised that the world was his oyster, and he took jobs all over Austria, Switzerland, Germany and then Britain, working in some of the best hotels in Europe.  During this time Robert fathered his first child, Sonja, but circumstances and attitudes prevented him playing any further part in her up-bringing.  It wasn't until much later in his life that Sonya established contact with Dad, something which greatly eased his conscience.

In 1964 Robert and Gill met for the first time whilst Gill was on holiday in Austria. They fell in love and Robert moved to England where, in 1966, they were married. Despite settling in Britain Robert never forgot his Austrian roots, and he kept in regular contact with family in Vienna, Hainburg and Mitterndorf.  As a consequence, the extended family have enjoyed many happy times in Austria over the years.

In 1973 Robert fulfilled a life-long ambition when he bought his own business, a small sea-front hotel in North Wales. The Pier Hotel became the centre of our lives and a successful family business for the next 30 years. Life at 'The Pier' was always vibrant and colourful and we made many life long friends during that time. But it was also not without its hardship and pressures and in 1985 Robert and Gill separated. This was a very difficult time for the whole family.  Robert had to work hard to keep the business going but he never lost his belief that he and Gill belonged together. Thankfully, during this time nobody died as a result of Robert's cooking and the business survived.  More importantly, Robert and Gill found each other again and re-married in 1992.  This reunion was a huge testament to Robert's re-discovered Catholic faith as well as his capacity for forgiveness.  

In 1984 Robert joined the Catenian Association and since then he has been an active member in the North Wales Circle and more recently in Spain. He made many good friends though the Association and we have been touched by the many messages of support from Brothers and their families.  Indeed it was his great friendship with the late Brother Frank Tulley which led to their purchase of the apartment in La Mata in 1995.  It was no surprise to us that soon after retiring in 2002 Robert & Gill moved to Spain.  Robert was the driving force behind this, he never really felt strong ties to any country - he was a 'man of the world', and in Spain he saw the chance of a new adventure. The move was more difficult for Gill because she missed England, her friends and her growing family.  But over the last 7 years they have both come to feel at home in Spain.  They have shared many happy times here with their old friends and family from both England and Austria who have enjoyed many happy holidays in La Mata.  But what has sustained them most in Spain has been the love and friendship of their new friends and neighbours, people they have come to regard as a second family. The last year in particular has been especially hard because of Gill's illness, but the support and kindness of their friends in La Mata has been overwhelming.  

Robert was one of life's real characters, a force of nature at times. You will remember his big smile and his laugh perhaps more than anything else. He could usually find something to smile or laugh about, whether it was with people he knew, or with strangers.  Even when there was a language barrier he had a natural ability to make warm connections with people. But Robert could also be a very serious person.  He was very intelligent, passionate and knowledgeable.  He used to joke that he was just an uneducated foreigner because he left school at 14, but he never stopped learning.  He was an avid reader of history and politics and for 30 years he read 'The Times' from cover to cover.  He also spoke two languages fluently, unfortunately neither of them was Spanish!  He loved nothing better than a good debate about the government of the day, the state of the nation or last night's football match.  For the record he was supporting Spain in the World Cup!    

Robert was always a very honest man, never afraid to speak his mind or stand his ground for what he believed - he always tried to do the right thing whatever the personal cost.  Although at times he found it difficult to express or show his love, none of us ever doubted how much he cared for us or how deep and personal his love was.  He was not a greedy man in a material sense. He never flaunted what wealth he had, nor bragged about it. For him life was always about the simple things: sharing time with his family and friends, walking his dog, enjoying a glass of red wine and a wholesome meal or just dozing in front of the telly... These were the things that brought him most pleasure, particularly in the last years of his life.  It was therefore no surprise when Robert eased into the relaxed pace of life in La Mata, doing so with an inner contentment that his life had been good. He was able to look back with pride, humility and satisfaction and look forward, confident that he was in the right place to enjoy his remaining days in the sunshine.  I know he brought sunshine into our lives and a little extra sunshine to La Mata.   

Robert Herndlhofer was a devoted husband, a dedicated father and a proud grandfather.  He will live long in our hearts and will be dearly missed.

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