TERRANCE ROBINSON

Our family ‘doesn’t do funerals’, so it should not be surprising that we won’t do a typical obituary either.  I was asked to take care of it, so here it is.

My dad, Terrance John Robinson’s role in the lives of those he knew and loved was varied of course. Husband, father, grandfather, uncle, cousin, friend, co-worker, blah, blah, blah…  You know who you were to him!

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To most people, he was very well liked and amicable…a natural born host with the most as it were, and a real charmer.  To some people, his sense of humor was not their cup of tea.  And well, if you didn’t like or get the Robinson sense of humor and know the big heart behind it…pfft…your loss.

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Terry enjoyed cooking/ eating/ drinking/ loving/ laughing/ debating/ challenging/ MacGyver most anything/ smoking/ fishing/ playing crib/ trips in Vanessa and living his life as he so chose to.  Sometimes it was in an old-fashioned manner, but most other times, very open minded.  He made very few apologies, no different than most of us… it’s never an easy thing to do, no matter who you are - admitting you were wrong.  Mistakes were made in his lifetime, but those, for the most part, were overshadowed by the ‘Good Stuff’. 

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Dad used to say he lived life with no regrets. Well, that statement changed when his time was running short.  There is nothing abnormal or unexpected about that, either.  We are all going to wish we had done some things differently when we look back now, and even more so when there is no more time left to make changes that matter.  So, side note to you readers…“power think on that”…lol…something a nurse would say to my parents…much to their annoyance. 

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But seriously…don’t wait if you need to make changes that will lessen the regrets of your life, time goes by in a flash and your life can change in an instant.

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Oh, in case you were wondering…there will be no group ‘Celebration of Life’ either (gasp!).  Dad and Mom discussed this recently.  The months between diagnosis and his death were when many celebrations of his life happened.  If you were a part of those days, you already know this.  If you weren’t…well, you can celebrate his life in your own way.  Or, we would love to see you, one on one…sharing a drink, some food and some tears and always some laughter.  Dad won’t mind.  He’s not mad or disappointed with you.  I know this with absolute certainty. 

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You can find him by the water… be it a fountain in a yard, or on the waves of your favorite lake.  The love of water ran deep in his soul, from another lifetime is my guess.  Or find him poking around the tool shed… looking for some miscellaneous bits of something that will work to jiggy whatever you are working on.  Making friends with whatever animal came his way - they sure took to him.  Or in the kitchen… buttering a piece of chocolate cake, baking bread, making wings and fries, stacking a cracker high with pate/cheese/pickles or proudly serving you the best fricken prime rib roast you will ever have.  Maybe pouring an overly generous drink, picking at his teeth with a piece of cigarette package, or telling a long/detailed and probably slightly off-color story - for the third time.  Now I’m starting to cry.  Deep breath…

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ETHICAL DEATH CARE

Cremation & Life Celebrations

530 St. Mary Avenue - Winnipeg

204-421-5501 - www.ethicaldeathcare.com

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