Greg Sachs was advised by Paul Dentskevich as follows:
It is with great sadness that I need to let you know that Bob quietly passed away yesterday morning.
He was comfortable, peaceful, and free from pain, and one of the trusted nursing staff was with him at the time.
As yet, we do not have any confirmed funeral arrangements, but we are looking towards the end of next week.
I am sorry to be the bearer of this news. I know that he had a great deal of affection and respect for all of his ex-OTC colleagues, and he greatly enjoyed the time you spent together.
Kindest regards
Paul
4 Comments
I forwarded the email advising of Bob’s death shortly after it popped up in my inbox on “Thu 17/09/2026 10:25 PM”. Bob was in a nursing home in England so that’s where Paul Dentskevich’s email would have originated. Thus, based on Paul’s email, Bob may have died on 16 September UK time.
I understand Bob was 92.
Bob was instrumental in encouraging me to join OTC in 1969.
I’ll try to flush some memories about Bob’s time in OTC out of my ageing memory and, also ask Bob Lions for his memories of BVD as he was also known.
WBR,
Greg Sachs
Garry Hausfeld found a mention of Bob in the OTC Contact magazine:
OTC Contact, July-September 1967:
T.A.S.I. TO BOOST COMPAC CAPACITY
O.T.C. Engineers are overcoming the day to day technical problems associated with the installation of this $1 million special switching system known as Time Assignment Speech Interpolation. The system increases the handling capacity of two-way voice circuits on coaxial submarine cables.
Senior Engineer, Mr. B. Dentskevich, flew to London for special talks with British Post Office engineers and officials, who had already installed such a system on coaxial submarine cables.
Mr. Dentskevich also visited Montreal for discussions with Canadian engineers, who went with him to New York for special talks with the supplying company.
Bob’s daughter, Suzie, has advised:
Funeral service is at Saint Edward Brotherhood Orthodox Church on Wednesday 30th September 2026 at 2pm.
The service will follow traditional Russian Orthodox customs, which includes attendees standing during the ceremony, omission of formal eulogies and an open casket. Some seating is available in the church for anyone who needs it.
Boris’ body will be committed following the service in the cemetery next to the Church.
If you would like to send flowers they can be ordered via https://www.lodgebros.co.uk/floral-tributes/
Please RSVP to Suzie (suzie_dent@hotmail.com) by 12noon Sunday 27th September 2026
if you plan to come to the Reception as this will help us plan the numbers for the Wake.
As a former colleague of борис денскович, I recall a tale of a visit with the children to a home where one of the children found a drill and bored into some furniture. Boris’s response was that it was their fault for leaving the drill around! I can’t recall ever confirming the veracity of this tale.
A piece in The Sydney Morning Herald on “Harbin the Ice City” reminded me of Bob’s Journey to Australia. My understanding is that Bob’s family along with many Russians moved to Harbin China, to work on the railroads. Subsequently, they, along with other Russians emigrated to Australia after the second World War. Bob and others, became part of the Australian community, while still retaining the Russian culture.
I was always very impressed by Bob’s ability as an engineer.
Regards
David Charrett