Obituary of Robert John Gunningham

The Blue Jays and the Riders are missing a fan today, and the rest of us are missing Bob. Bob was a private and quiet man who cared about his family, the environment and the political state of the world. As a kid, he was in Cubs, played hockey and baseball, and enjoyed lifting weights. As a young adult, he attended the University of Saskatchewan and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture with a major in Animal Science. He lived and farmed in the Mortlach/Caron area for many years, and there he met his sweetheart, Doris (Anderson) Watt. They spent 10 great years together enjoying travels to Europe and around Canada, having fun with Doris' grandkids, and making a life together in Mortlach, and later Swift Current. Part of this life included Bob taking a job with SAMA and becoming a Professional Agrologist. Bob was profoundly sad when cancer took Doris in 2007, but considered himself so fortunate to remain a part of the Anderson-Watt family. In these past 10 years, Bob tried snowboarding, took up snowshoeing, and fell in love with bicycle touring. Together with family and buddies, he toured Saskatchewan, Germany, Denmark, Italy and Greece by bike. He kayaked in Venice on the Grand Canal, sampled kuchen and schnitzel in Berlin, boated by the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen, and visited the Parthenon and the Acropolis in Athens. As an avid reader, he filled his mind with an eclectic mix of writings such as the poetry of Robert Service, Neil DeGrasse Tyson's Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, mathematics texts, and the Bible. Bob was a spiritual Christian in the best sense of the word. He was opposed to racism, religious intolerance, sexism and homophobia. Predeceased by his father, Roy Gunningham and mother-in-law, Marjorie Anderson, those left here to miss you, Bob, are: mom, Edith Gunningham; siblings, Jim (Linda) Gunningham, Brian (Mary Anne) Gunningham, Maureen (Bill) Ireland, Norma (Bill) Gunningham-Kapphahn; grandchildren, Dylan, Nigel, Rebecca, Megan, Hannah, Jack and Wendell; stepchildren, Don (Diane) Watt, Terry (Mario) Bouvier, Heather (Rene) Giesen; in-laws Lorna Arnold, Brian (Maureen) Anderson, Marilyn (Bill) Anderson-Corkum, nieces and nephews, extended family, and friends. Bob would want us to extend a special thank you to Tracy Frank, RN, Dr. Shahid Ahmed and Dr. Johann Malan. He was so grateful for your humour, your concern, and your tenderness.