Robert John was born in Bentinck Township on January 26, 1942 to parents George and Viola (Lang) Robinson. He joined older siblings Carl (1932), Gene (1935), Betty (1936), Alex (1938), Dorothy (1940) with Alice following in 1947. The Robinson family spent much of Bob’s youth in Bentinck Township, however, they had stops in Owen Sound, Paisley, and Hespeler along the way. He attended school at S.S. #8 Louise but did not pursue high school. A memorable story was told of his childhood when the kids received a new toboggan for Christmas. Bob, Dorothy, and Alex headed for the hill. Bob took to driving and the three kids were soon heading down the slope. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to navigate around a tree and they crashed. Upon impact, the toboggan broke in two but luckily no one was seriously hurt. Bob apparently lost his marbles though. Dorothy’s words, not mine. Apparently, Bob had marbles in his pocket which he lost when coming into contact with the tree. So it only makes that when asked, how are you? His quick response was, “I lost my marbles!” 🙂
After school Bob soon began working for his brother-in-law Dean Karn roofing. It was during this time that he met and married his future wife, Sandra Elaine Callahan. The couple were wed on July 3, 1965 at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Sullivan Township. They soon settled in Bridgeport where they welcomed their four children, Cheryl (1965), Michael (1967), Karen (1968), and Sherry (1970). Bob worked for Hogg Cement in Kitchener at the time, supporting his young family.
In 1980, Bob headed north up to New Liskeard. Here he began working in the mining industry. In the years that followed he spent time out west, as well mining, but finally settled on a farm outside of New Liskeard. Bob was a hard worker and many would refer to him as a workaholic. If there was something to do, Bob was usually doing it.
When not busy at work, which wasn’t often, Bob loved hunting, fishing, and spending time in his vegetable garden. He absolutely loved the outdoors and everything it had to offer, which is probably why he enjoyed the north. His favourite fish was Speckled Trout, and he enjoyed them many times over the years, along with wild turkey. He would often wash down these delicious meals with a nice cold beer! Bob was also a good housekeeper and took great pride in his ability to cook and clean up after himself.
In the late 90’s Bob headed back south were he settled in the Stayner area. Here he worked as a welder, retiring in 2008. Bob was a true treasure hunter and loved looking for bargains at the auction sales. Like most of us, he liked to make money and he was a great bargain hunter. In fact, Bob even started buying storage units, similar to the popular Television show, Storage Wars. He enjoyed travelling around Southwestern Ontario bidding on units, becoming quite successful at it. If you were looking for something Bob usually had it and if he didn’t he could probably find it for you.
In 2014 Bob purchased a property outside of Durham. Life started to slow down a bit more as he started to experience some health problems. If you knew Bob, you would appreciate that he had 9 lives, as over the years he had many close brushes with death. However, this stubbornness always won out and he usually made a full recovery. He enjoyed old country music and the likes of Hank Williams. Bob also liked picking up a recent Readers Digest or sports magazine to catch up on the recent news. He was also generous with his time and talents. At the age of 74, he spent two days cutting a truckload of logs for Michael, without being asked. He just enjoyed helping where he could. Bob was also known to have a great sense of humour and would often have a smart ass remark just waiting for the right time.
Sadly, Bob’s Parkinsons caught up to him and he required more care. In 2018 he moved into The Village in Hanover before calling Rockwood Terrace home a year later. He continued to joke with staff and residents on a daily basis trying to make the best of each day. Bob passed away at Rockwood Terrace, Durham on Sunday, June 7, 2020 in his 79th year.
He is survived by his children Cheryl (Ed) Doyle of Grand Valley, Michael (Donna) of Everett, Karen (Dan) Hiscox of Owen Sound, and Sherry (Joe) Burke of Ottawa. Grandfather of Steven, Thomas, Alana, Wesley, Wyatt, Hannah, Emma, and great-grandfather of Ellen. Brother of Betty Karn of Cobalt, Dorothy Schultz, Alice Welsand, and brother-in-law of Ken Martin, all of Chesley. Bob was predeceased by his wife Sandra, sister Gene Martin, brothers Alex Robinson, Carl Lang, and his parents George and Viola (Lang) Robinson.
Private funeral services will be held at Rhody Family Funeral Home, Chesley with interment to follow in Chesley Cemetery.
Memorial donations to Parkinson Canada or the Heart & Stroke Foundation would be appreciated as expressions of sympathy.
