Robert - 'Big Rob' to his friends - had recently been recognised for his five decades of service to the CFA, including four years as captain of Napoleons Enfield. He was also past president of the school council and Napoleons and District Historical Society, as well as being a successful businessman and mechanic.

But the love of his family was the core of Robert's life, and he took great joy and pride in his three children and five grandchildren, his wife Jan says.

Jan had known Robert through family connections - Robert's father had shorn sheep on her parents' property and they were family friends - but they became a couple after attending the CYD dances at St Patrick's Hall in Ballarat.

"There was a 60/40 dance at the Civic Hall, and then they shifted it to St Pats, and that was where a lot of people in Ballarat met, and where I met Rob properly in the 1970s," Jan Sobey says.

"He was a very big man, about 6-foot-6 and very broad-shouldered, very strong - he prided himself on his strength. But he was also very quietly spoken and gentle."

Robert decided at 15 or 16 he would be a mechanic, and set himself to that task immediately, working for several employers including the Country Roads Board, the Road Construction Authority and VicRoads, before building R&J Sobey Diesel Engineers into a respected business over 32 years. One of his most proud achievements, Jan says, was ensuring his apprentices were well trained and successful.

"He delighted in the fact every apprentice we had finished their apprenticeship ahead of time," Jan says.

"That was something he was very, very proud of. And our most recent apprentice, he finished twelve months ahead of time. He mentored them and he wanted them to learn. For Robert, you had to do your best, no matter what, in his eyes, just try and do your best. He was very, very proud of his apprentices and the way they've all turned out."

Jan and Robert's three children - Jude, Mark and Nicole - remembered their father for his willingness to drop everything to share his time with them.

"We talked about last night, how, whilst he was really busy and he worked a lot, he dropped everything for us; he always had time for us," daughter Jude says.

"There's nothing he wouldn't have done for us."

Nicole said one of Robert's loves was to teach and pass on his knowledge

"He was a jack of all trades, there's nothing he couldn't do," she says.

"Build sheds - he built his own shed here. There was nothing that Dad couldn't do, even concreting. So we would spend a lot of time helping him, whether that's at the farm or whether it was building a shed here or concreting a path there; building a fence. He always had projects. He always had a list as long as his arm, and it was a long arm. He never sat idle; he was always wanting to teach us."

Jude says that love of mentoring and teaching extended beyond the family, and is evidenced in the outpouring of affection for Robert on social media.

"I think that comes through also in a lot of the Facebook posts, both on his page and on the Napoleons Enfield Fire Brigade page about the mentoring. It wasn't like there was any formal mentor relationship. He just took people under his wing and wanted to share all his knowledge. That was just him."

Current Napoleons Enfield brigade captain Paul Hazlett says it was likely Robert had served for a lot longer than 50 years, as the official recognition would have started when he was 18, and Robert would have been helping fight fires from his early youth.

Paul says Robert was remembered by the brigade for his ability to quietly advise new members, and was looked up to, not because of his imposing height but for the respect he engendered among his colleagues.

"He took on the captain's role here from 2018 to 2022, but he'd done so much work as lieutenant and second lieutenant," he said.

"He didn't take too many holidays, he liked being at home. And often he'd be on a fire field not only as CFA but also as a mechanic, because one of his contracts was with Forest Fire Management. So up in Horsham or Stawell or the Grampians, when we had the big fires up there, it would not be unusual for 'Sobes' to turn up in his work vehicle and service vehicles at the staging areas as well.

"He would know a lot of the DELWP people pretty well. He always lived in Napoleons and he always turned up to everything. He was just good to be around."

Former captain Kevin McManus had known Robert since childhood, having been to school with him. He remembered him as a valued lieutenant in the CFA, always willing to offer considered advice on decisions and undertaking training of new members.

"He was a deputy group officer with the Buninyong group, and a very well-respected person in the community," Kevin says.

"He always made himself available and he was easy to work with, he was the kind of man who put his whole life into the brigade - that was just how he worked. He had the respect not only of the brigade members but of the group level members."

That commitment to the work and camaraderie of the CFA continued to the very end of Robert's life, Jan says.

From the early days of the fire phone families, who were directly connected to the station, to clearing the home driveway of bicycles and children when Robert was heading out again to fight fires, he was committed to protecting the community.

"Last Tuesday he was in hospital, and I had his phone; now with all these apps, he's got the pager app on the phone," Jan says.

"He's there, his eyes were shut and he was dozing, and this app went off on his phone. I grabbed it, and his eyes shot open and he turned his head and he's looking. So I read it; I said to him, 'There's a fire at Smythes Creek, they want Napo Tanker One and Paul's taken it.' And he shut his eyes and said 'Ah'.

"He died on Wednesday night, but even on Tuesday afternoon, he was on the job. He was still on the job."

Robert's funeral will be held Wednesday 20 April 2022 at 2pm with a service at St James Church, Sebastopol, followed by burial at Buninyong General Cemetery. Light refreshments will be served at the Napoleons Hall following the internment.

The public are welcome to join the Sobey family, alternatively you can watch via live stream at this link.