He was called Sam at school and in the ski industry, but changed to Rob for everything else by family agreement because of all the Sams in the family (including his father and one of his sons). He married Jan Prain (a sister of skier Trish Prain) in 1958; they had two daughters and two sons. He was born in Timaru, brought up on a farm at the back of Mount Somers, and died at home in Tai Tapu.
