In Memoriam

Robert John Durward Gardner, BASc’52

July 12, 1927 – January 12, 2018

Robert John Durward (Bob) Gardner passed away peacefully on January 12, 2018, at the age of 90. He was predeceased by his loving wife of 64 years, Erika Vaughan (White) Gardner. He is survived by his children Robert (Corlaine Davidson), Dawn, Kenneth (Yvonne Pedroso) and Marianne (Michael McKee), and by his six grandchildren,Christopher Williams, Heather Williams, Evan Gardner, Laurel Gardner, Kenneth Gardner Jr. and Tamara Gardner.

Bob was born in Edmonton and was raised in Lethbridge, Alberta. He attended UBC, graduating as a mechanical engineer in 1952. Bob and Vaughan were married in 1951 and settled in Lethbridge, where they raised four children. During his 35-year career at the Lethbridge Iron Works, he also volunteered with the Civil Defence until the late 1960s. In 1989, Bob and Vaughan retired to Salmon Arm, where Bob belonged to the Shuswap Beekeepers’ Association and was an active member of the Salmon Arm Bay Nature Enhancement Society. Bob was a founding member of the Salmon Arm Citizens’ Patrol and was an active member for over 20 years.

Bob is best known as an avid model railroader, filling his basement with a sizeable railroad layout. He was key in promoting the hobby and its skills, and in starting and recruiting new members for the Lethbridge Model Railroad Club, and later for the Salmon Arm Model Railroad Club. He enjoyed travelling with Vaughan to Australia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, and more recently to the Bahamas and Scotland. Bob lived his last three years at Lakeside Manor, where he enjoyed taking part in Happy Hour, drumming circles and watching a pair of eagles from his living room window, while listening to the hum of trains as they passed.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Salmon Arm SPCA. Bob and his great sense of humour will be sadly missed by all who knew him. Please raise a “dram of Scotch” in his honour.