Bob departed this life on December 24, 2018 to share an eternal and beautiful future with the Lord God his Heavenly Father, whom he loves.
Bob was born on March 23, 1949 to Peter and Elizabeth (Betty). Bob has been predeceased by both his parents.
Left to cherish and honor Bob’s memory are his wife and best friend Shirley, their son Michael and his wife Cori and their children; Taylor Holmes, Maksim, Nikolai and Gavrielle Hildebrand, daughter Barbie Ann and her husband Tim Maguire and their children, Colton, Ashton, Emily and Shamus, there are also six grandchildren in Manitoba with whom we are estranged. Bob leaves his brother Gerry and his wife Claire and their daughter Crystal and her husband Kevin Buhler and their children Nate, Kyla, and Brynn.
Bob and Gerry spent much time working together, spending time hanging out and often living together!!! Bob also leaves behind Shirley’s family who loved and respected Bob. There are also many aunts, uncles and cousins. Bob also will be remembered by many friends both in Alberta and Manitoba.
The largest portion of Bob’s life was spent dairy farming south of Brandon, Manitoba. Bob’s diploma in structural technology was important as over the years more buildings were built, added to and developed. Bob and Shirley, two total greenhorns to farming, took on this adventure with vigor and high expectations. Bob was a fast learner and through dairy immersion kept the dairy for thirty-two years. Bob was an original Macgyver and could keep machinery running with “bob ingenuity”. Selling the dairy cattle and equipment and moving into retirement saw Bob take on backgrounding calves for the winter to sell in spring. BSE ended this venture. Bob worked at the Brandon Agricultural Research Station and began a handy man business. Once the farm land was sold Bob and Shirley moved into Brandon for a total of nine months.
In 2005, Bob and Shirley moved to Calgary to be in a better position to help and give support to the Maguire family after Tim’s accident. Shortly after arriving in Calgary, Bob was hired by Exploron Corp. Over the years Bob worked in various capacities at their properties. Bob enjoyed this job tremendously. Due to Bob’s health he retired in January of 2017. However, to his great delight, he still had a connection with the company and fellow workers, Bob became an on call consultant. Over these years Bob worked with and for many amazing people.
Bob’s life very much revolved around his family. Spending time with his kids and grandkids was a real joy for him. Bob was always busy. He took a stained glass course way back when and has had stained glass projects on the go until this past year. His pieces are in the homes of many family members and friends. Bob always built things but learned more finesse at the Exploron woodshop. The preschool Shirley worked at received many of his projects, cupboards, reading centre and cubbies. Bob’s life also centered around the church he attended. Bob taught Sunday school, was a leader in AWANA, elder, chairman of the elder’s board plus taking on many fix it jobs in and around the church buildings. Bob’s faith in Jesus and the truth of the bible was central to his life. Bob’s desire would be that each of his family members as well as those in his circle of friends would come to believe in Jesus as their own personal Savior.
Heartfelt thanks go out to Dr. N. Bahlis and all the staff at Tom Baker Cancer Centre who cared relentlessly for Bob over the past ten plus years. Bob was a fighter and kicked the life out of the multiple myeloma only to be defeated by pancreatic cancer. Bob was a true warrior. We would also like to thank the palliative home care team for their support and love. The Chinook Hospice Staff cared so well and so gently for Bob during his final days.
A service to honor Bob’s memory will be held at the will be held at McKenzie Towne Church (#7 McKenzie Towne Gate SE), on Saturday, January 5, 2019 at 1:00 p.m.