January 31, 1945 - July 3, 2021

It is with profound heartache that Rolf’s family shares the news of his sudden passing on Saturday, July 3, at his beloved cottage. Deeply loving husband, adventurer and rock for Maggie for almost 50 years, he was the number one fan of and inspiration for his three children, Natalie (Colin Butler), Katy (Adam Wolpert) and Jorin (Martha Temple), and dear ear-nibbling story-telling Gramps for Sabine, Hayden, Anja, and Mila. 

He was born in Sudbury, Ontario, to Chris and Mabel (Hatcher) Mamen as the second of their six children, and moved from mining camp to mining camp until settling in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue where he attended Macdonald High School. At age 16, he started at McGill University in Engineering Physics where he met some lifelong friends, and subsequently became an Athlone Scholar at Imperial College of Science and Technology in London where he earned his PhD. It was here that he met Maggie and the rest is history. She followed him to Canada in 1971, they married in 1972, and settled in Ottawa where they have lived in the same house since 1973. He encouraged, supported and cheered for Maggie throughout her university studies and was a hands-on dad from the start, developing wonderfully close relationships with all three children. Rolf went on eventually to become Director General of Space Operations for the Canadian Space Agency, although he never quite mastered laptops or smart phones!  He was an elite cross-country skier with multiple gold bars in the Canadian Ski Marathon, avid cyclist, touch football and soccer player, kayaker, canoeist, and lover of anything outdoors until the relentlessness of Parkinson’s Disease took these activities away from him one by one. Get-togethers at the Mamen homestead in St-Sauveur, especially at Christmas, were always a highlight for him, and he cherished these times with extended family.

In addition to Maggie and their children, in-laws and grandchildren, Rolf is survived by his sisters Anitra (Doug Engh) and Julie (Tim Lawson), his brothers Gordon (Diane Conroy) and Lauritz, and a multitude of nieces, nephews, grand nieces and grand nephews, along with his sister-in-law Audrey, a circle of amazing friends, and his dog Ollie. He was predeceased by his sister Marta (Frans Blom) and infant grandson Noah.

Rolf will be remembered for his zest for life, the twinkle in his eyes, his eternal optimism, for not having the word “can’t” in his vocabulary, his loyalty, his MacGyver talent for fixing everything, his dogged determination and work ethic, but most of all his courage and stoicism when life became so difficult. 

Thanks to our Lac McFee family for all the help, support, and kindness on July 3 - you are the best.  Thanks also to Julie for her TLC and the trips to St-Sauveur over the past months - he so enjoyed them. 

Rolf, you were our sunshine. We shall all miss you terribly.