Robert Henry Garwood's Eulogy

EULOGY

Everyone here will know that my Dad led a full and varied life. Some might even say he’s a man who wore many hats. So it was difficult for me to know where to begin. Luckily my Dad himself gave me a great idea of where to start -- at his 70th birthday celebration in the UK my father made a fantastic speech about the importance of the letter B in his life.  So I thought I’d continue the B-theme here today.

The first B in Dad’s life was Brighton.

Robert Henry Garwood was born on February 10th 1941 in Brighton England to proud parents Joan and Gordon and big brother Alan. His father Gordon was in the navy and fought in both World War One and World War Two.  His mother Joan Bulbeck was always spoken of fondly by Dad who said what a remarkable and kind woman she was.

Dad was conceived on a Naval Base in Jamaica during the war -- and he was almost born there.  Instead, his mum travelled in a merchant ship back to England, narrowly avoiding the German U-boats which were policing the seas. This was one of quite a few brushes with death that Dad would have during the war.

Back in England a large (thousand pound) bomb landed on the adjoining house which destroyed it. Luckily, the bomb was a dud that didn’t detonate.

Dad also had pneumonia at the age of two.  They had no medication during the war but his mother kept brandy in the house and used this to help Dad through his illness.

As if that weren’t enough war-related close calls, Dad also had an appendicitis and again it was brandy that was used to keep the wound clean. Dad was always proud of his scar which was messy because of the lack of medical assistance.

Having survived the war, Dad went on to lead a very healthy and happy life. He was never sick again until this past year when he beat Prostate Cancer before falling ill with Mesothelioma.

The second B is Braunschweig where Dad first lived in Germany as a child.

Just after the war, Dad and his parents moved to Germany while his older brother stayed behind to join the British Navy.

For the next ten years the family lived in various places in Germany, including Hanover, Bielefeld and then on to Dusseldorf.

In 1956, Dad’s family returned to the UK, moving to Cheltenham where Dad’s father worked for GCHQ which was later revealed to be a spy agency.

We have sometimes wondered whether Dad himself might be a spy. There was a time when he wouldn’t go anywhere – including both bed and the beach –   without at least ten USB keys hanging round his neck.  But this was probably more to do with Dad’s eccentric side than any responsibility for national secrets.

The third B came when at the age of eight, Dad was sent to Brighton College, a boarding school in South East England. Dad always commented that this was the only time in his life that he felt lonely.  As a young child being sent away he was very homesick for his family but this soon passed and he went on to enjoy his time at school, becoming quite the sport star – champion runner, boxer and starting his love affair with rugby.

Dad’s time at Brighton College was not all fun and games. His time here was blighted by the death of his older brother who he loved very dearly.  His brother Alan was killed in a national tragedy when the submarine he was on as part of a British Navy training exercise disappeared and was later revealed to have sunk. This was a turning point in Dad’s life because his destiny of joining the Navy, as all his forefathers had before him, changed course. His mother couldn’t risk losing her only remaining son and Dad stuck with B words instead.

The next B word being Bristol University where Dad studied electrical engineering. Dad was very proud to have studied at Bristol University and becoming a Professional Engineer.

Dad finished University in 1963 and looked for another B-word to celebrate his accomplishment, setting out on a road trip starting in Berlin.

From Berlin Dad hitchhiked to Rome, picking up two Spanish guys and an American woman along the way.  Dad later realized the Spanish companions were anti-Franco agitators and were using Dad as a cover to look like simple tourists.  That’s Dad all over – always happy to help his friends!

The next B for Dad was when he emigrated from England.

In 1964 Dad started a world tour – first stop, Canada! Dad was so impressed that there was a country that had winters cold enough to ski, summers hot enough to sail and lots of great people to play rugby with that he decided although Canada begins with the letter C, it was actually the perfect B, being the Best Country! So that was the beginning and end of his world tour.

As Dad came from such a small family, especially after the loss of his only brother, the friends he made here in Canada became his family. I hope that each of you here today feel that way too because Dad definitely feels that way about you.

Moving on to B-word: Business.

Dad had an extremely varied career: from Professional Engineer, to restaurateur, to Project Manager, to tree cutter and fence builder.

Unfortunately, Dad started his career at General Electric in Peterborough – at the time thinking he had landed on his feet working for a big household name.  It was only this past year that he came to regret this move as it cost him his life and we encourage everyone here to boycott General Electric.

When Dad left General Electric in 1969 he joined Polycom. Here he made so many friends that he is still close to today.

Dad always looked forward to his poker nights with the Polycom crew, and later, their days spent playing board games – particularly with Tom and Doug who are here today and George who has sadly also recently passed away.

The next B-word for Dad was hugely significant because it resulted in the birth of me! In 1975 Dad met his future wife, Katharine Cozier, who was from the beautiful B-country, Barbados.

I remember my Mum telling the story of how she met Dad at one of his parties in Toronto and she fell for him instantly, despite his eccentric suit.  Dad also fell head over heels for this exotic Barbadian woman with her long black hair, big earrings, and jangling bangles on her wrist. They only courted a short time before marrying on 28 February 1976 in Barbados.

Our family visited Barbados frequently over the years.  He loved swimming in the sea and would terrify me and my sister with how far out he would swim and how long he would be in the water for.

Our most recent trip to Barbados was very special for me because I was married in the same church as my parents. I’m so grateful Dad was there to walk me down the aisle.

For the past 38 years of Dad’s life his biggest B has been the location of his beloved home in Brookville.

Dad and mum spent their first few years living between Toronto and Sugar Bush before they bought their dream home in the country in 1979. They spent the next 23 years building a life with their two daughters, many pets and even chickens at one point.

The main reason for the purchase of the property is they both saw its potential as a party hotspot. Both being immigrants to Canada they valued their friendships like family and loved entertaining. Every year our parents hosted a big summer sports party and a winter cross-country ski party, which was definitely Dad’s favourite past time.

Dad would have loved the snow that has been falling the last few days and would be getting his skis ready.

After the death of our Mum, fifteen years ago to a brain aneurysm, Dad continued with his skiing – and with his parties. Recently he held a pizza party where he made special pizzas for his guests, including a new topping of celery – which turned out to be a hit. You heard it here first!

He was also very much looking forward to this Christmas season where he had two parties planned – the Fab Five Party (a name affectionately given to my girlfriends) and his Peace and Love Beatles-themed Christmas Party.  We will be hosting this latter party at our house in Dad’s honour after the service and all are welcome.

Dad loved living in this area and especially his property.  I think it is safe to say that his happiest years were spent on 20th side road with his loving friends and neighbours. He loved it here so much that he didn’t even mind when Boris the Bear was hiding his tools or other possessions from him.

The next B for Dad is Boston.

I think someone is very lucky to find love once in a lifetime – but they are especially blessed to find it twice.  This summer, Dad announced his engagement to his long-time partner Karen who is from the great B-city of Boston.  Over the past ten years Karen and Dad have enjoyed many holidays and fun times together.

Karen, we will always think of you as family and we thank you for making Dad so happy all these years.

Another B for Dad is Bettering Himself.

Up until the very end Dad was always about education.  Last week he asked me to research the King James Bible to find out how long it took to write and what year it was finished.  We have an extensive library of books that Dad has read with the main theme being history. He recently branched out from nonfiction to enjoy my favourite historical author, Philipa Gregory.

Dad also had a lifelong passion for math, choosing “Calculus Refresher” for his beach reading when on holiday.

But it wasn’t just math and history – Dad loved learning new things and challenging himself to grow and stretch in different directions, whether that be learning Tai Chi or taking on multiple house renovation projects.

One of the things I was most of proud of is when Dad went to the University of Calgary to live in a dormitory at the age of 72 to complete his Petroluem Engineering degree.  We all respected his bravery and determination to keep learning and bettering himself.

How many more B-words can there be?  We’re now on to Bang Jo, Bristol and Brown Bear.

Always aiming to be the best daughters we could be, both my sister and I live in B word places. I live in Bang Jo, Thailand and Nicola is in Bristol, UK.

Dad was so pleased to celebrate both our weddings in recent years and to get to know his sons-in-law.  Luis inspiring him to refresh his Spanish and Paddy inspiring him to refresh his love of soccer, joining Paddy as a dedicated Liverpool supporter.

My sister and Paddy have been blessed with Dad’s first grandchild, Freda, who Dad spent the last three months of his life with. He made sure to impart on Freda a love of B-words, always reading her favourite book together: “Brown Bear, Brown Bear”.

Dad will always be fondly remembered as Goofy Grandpa, making Freda smile and her blue eyes laugh.

Finally, the most important B-word of all: BRILLIANT.

Our Dad was truly Brilliant in every way.  He was the kindest, most optimistic, and positive person you could ever meet. He never thought badly of anyone. Dad only saw the best in people and the goodness of humanity. He would give anyone the benefit of the doubt.

I speak for both myself and my sister when I say that we feel honoured to have had him as a father.  He was the first feminist we ever met and he inspired me and my sister to be the women we are today.  We will all cherish every memory we have with Dad and we will miss him every single day.

Thank you Dad for being such a great father, friend, husband, partner, and person.  Thank you for being simply brilliant.