One of Orange Order’s oldest active members and father to IRA murder victim dies in 100th year

A stalwart of his county’s farming community, Robert ‘Robbie’ Alexander died in his bed at home in his bungalow in Gillygooley, a small hamlet to the west of Omagh, some time early on Tuesday morning.

Mr Alexander was in his 100th year.

Despite his age, he had still tried to attend Twelfth celebrations in the last several years, and had been in the News Letter at least twice in the past 12 months.

The first was when he was pictured attending an IRA Ballygawley bus bomb memorial service.

The second was just around a fortnight ago, when he appeared beside members of his family to promote an Orange fundraising event.

Mr Alexander’s farming life saw him particularly interested in livestock.

Even in the last years of his life, he would regularly labour in his workshop at an old piggery he owned in the nearby countryside, doing things like building wooden pallets.

His life had been touched by tragedy a number of times.

His son Ronnie joined the Ulster Defence Regiment, and was in a vehicle in the Ballygawley area of Co Tyrone the day after the Twelfth, 1983, when the IRA detonated a landmine.

According to the Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN), Ronnie Alexander was aged just 19 when he was killed (the other dead were John Roxborough, 19, Oswell Neely, 20, and Thomas Harron, 25).

It was believed the attack was the work of the IRA’s East Tyrone Brigade.

Robbie Alexander kept a picture of his dead son in uniform in his hallway, alongside a posthumous tribute to him from The Queen.

He went on to out-live and bury another two sons: Harry (who died in June 2012) and Sammy (who died in November 2013), both of natural causes.

A FARMER, LOYAL ORDER MEMBER, AND LONG-TIME NEWS LETTER READER:

Born on January 13, 1921, in rural west Tyrone, Robbie lost his mother Maud when he was very young and when his father Samuel remarried, his stepmother too tragically died after a few years.

It was an era when the farm had no tractor, and his family described his formative years as being ones of “tough and arduous” work.

He joined the Ulster Special Constabulary (‘B Specials’), and when World War II broke out, he volunteered to dig defensive trenches and to keep watch in the area on his bicycle by night – as well as doing a day’s work on the farm.

Orange Order headquarters said that he had been a member of Gillygooley Sons of William LOL 339, and that whilst he was not the oldest known Orangeman in the Province, “you can safely say he was one of the oldest”.

He had been a member of the institution for at least 77 years.

He was also an extremely loyal News Letter reader, getting the paper every single day.

He bred pure landrace pigs, and at one stage had a herd of 3,000 of the animals, as well as a Friesian cow herd.

He had also kept bees at one time, building 20 hives for them, plus hens.

His family said: “Many a night into the wee small hours in the morning dad would be found sitting in his office across from our farmhouse on his own, writing up the herd books, a register of his herd.

“The pure-bred landrace pigs were given really grand titles, some, even had triple names!”

His family also said that he, together with a small contingent of other farmers, “brought over and introduced the first Charolais cattle into Northern Ireland”.

He was a member of Pig Marketing Board for many years, too.

His children recall him instilling a similar work ethic into them “as soon as we could stand upright,” shouting “It’s thon time” to wake them every morning for their chores.

‘EARTHLY JOURNEY IS NOW OVER’:

In a statement, his family said: “Dad was fiercely competitive, a perfectionist and methodical in everything he put his hand to.

“As a family, we are proud of what our father achieved, his strength of character, his ability to overcome great and tremendous struggles which individually none of us, I am sure would ever like to face.

“Dad loved us all equally and loved seeing our coming and to hear of our achievements, which made him proud.

“On Tuesday, May 26, our Heavenly Father called out to dad: “it’s thon time”, to arise and go with Him.

“Dad’s journey here on Earth has ended.

“His physical work is finished - the hammer will lie quiet in daddy’s workshop.

“Our journey continues without him but now it is a journey of memories our legacy of him, for us who are left.”

Due to the coronavirus restrictions, only a very close group of mourners were permitted at the graveyard at Cappagh Church of Ireland on Thursday afternoon where he was buried (although he was a Presbyterian).

Mindful of the government restrictions on gatherings, a cadre of roughly a dozen Orangemen stood at intervals along the quiet country road near his home, forming a guard of honour as his coffin passed by en route to its final resting place.

Robert Alexander is survived by children Joyce, Olive, Joan and Sydney, together with widow Myra (whom he had married on March 7, 1984, following the death of first wife Kathleen in 1971), 13 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren, and a wide circle of friends.

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