It is with great sadness that we share the passing of Robin Michael Garland, 78, of Italy Cross Road, Nova Scotia who passed away peacefully at the South Shore Regional Hospital, after a short battle with cancer on the 13th of January 2021. Robin was born in Bristol, Great Britain, on November 16, 1947 with his twin brother George. His mother was the late Iona Garland (Bilucaglia) of Trieste, Italy and the late father Leslie George Garland of Bristol, England
Robin is survived by his only brother George whom he loved and cherished all his life. Robin was predeceased by his loving wife, Lyn McKim-Garland, of 38 years.
Robin was a most talented person, well organized, well mannered, a lover of people and dogs, especially Scottish Terriers. He became very successful in life from hard work, studying and dedication to challenges that came his way. He received his O.N.C Mechanical Engineering and H.N.C. Mechanical Engineering degrees from Bristol Polytechnic, England. Robin was masterful at his chosen career, moving to Canada and not only designing the Space Arm technology, was the project engineer for NASA for over 35 years before retiring to Nova Scotia, Canada. Robin mastered the art of organization, and everything had a purpose and a place and Robin never varied from his organized approach to everything he did in life.
Robin was a devoted friend to those he allowed to get close to him, and a more devoted brother to George as George was to him. It is hard to reference Robin without referring to George, there was indeed a unique family twin bond to each other, as they both supported the other’s careers, successes and shared the hard time when both lost their partners over the years.
Beside George, left to grieve are his niece Susan Roberts and nephew Neil Garland of Bristol England as well as many cousins all over the world. Neil composed an ODE to Robin to be read at the funeral service. Robin had two very special friends from Nova Scotia who were there for both Robin and George, Lee and Gladys Fraser. Robin, you will be missed more than words can express. Robin’s family wish to thank the special ER staff, nurses and doctors who took such super care of him during the past few months, as well as the palliative staff on the 4th floor of the SSRH.
Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the R.A. Corkum Funeral Home, Wileville. A quiet family funeral will be held on Tuesday January 19, 2021 at Brookside Cemetery, Bridgewater, Reverend Vivian Moores officiating. Cremation has already taken place.
Rest in Peace our precious Robin and thank you for being who you were to all who came across your path on earth, till we meet again.
Robin, my cousin, one half of a twin
The finest of gents there has ever been
Along with George, his devoted brother
The mould of these guys there will never be another
From growing up in England, with Italian decent
Great things lay ahead for the finest of men
An engineer in Thrissles, where it all began
Better things lay ahead from a farther land
A move to Canada came along pretty pronto
Where he forged a life and career in the city of Toronto
With a devoted wife, Lyn, and a job with NASA
A success story that made his family so proud
Kind, funny and generous are the memories I have
From a dream holiday in Canada to our Vegas bash
When retirement came, and a great career was over
The next chapter in life lay ahead in Nova
So off Rob & Lyn and George went
To start a new life where they met a great guy, Lee, and his wonderful wife, Gladys
Life took a twist as Lyn became ill
She fought to the end, such was her will
Robin stayed strong and moved in with George
Where their unbreakable bond continued to forge
Along came sad news, this great man was poorly
But he didn’t complain and fought it so bravely
His sense of humour remained to the end
“Look what the wind blew in” he said to his friend
Brave to the end, he chose to say ‘goodbye’ his own way
Our hearts are broken forever and a day
So here we gather to say ‘goodbye’
I’m so proud of you Robin, you were some special guy