Obituary of Robert Morgan Goodden

Following a seven-month battle with esophageal cancer which he waged with his own stoic courage and the compassionate oversight of Victoria Hospital's 'Team Bob' and palliative care unit, Bob died at home on May 29th in his 76th year with Laura Florence, his partner of 43 years (and wife of two days) and daughter, Jessie Florence, by his side. A Londoner all his life, through his twenties Bob frequently worked with his friends Jim McKillop and Keith Bendall on house painting crews; sometimes travelling out to Alberta and the Northwest Territories on contract jobs. On the side he steadily pursued his passion for gardening and landscaping; formally studying agriculture in Guelph and eventually landing his dream job as groundskeeper at Mount Pleasant Cemetery where he became indispensable and won wide recognition as an authority on the forests of the Carolinian region of which London is the northernmost point. By the age of 30, Bob bought his home on Mount Pleasant Ave. (his commute to work was not a long one) where he would live for the rest of his life and created a backyard garden that was an oasis of beauty, variety and ingenious design. There was nothing Bob couldn't make grow. Born on December 20th, 1948, Bob was the third of Jack and Verna Goodden's four sons. In addition to Laura and Jessie and her partner, Kane Hill, Bob's passing is mourned by his three brothers and their wives - Dave and Elizabeth (Australia), Ted and Cornelia Hoogland (British Columbia) and Herman and Kirtley Jarvis (just around the corner in London West). Bob is also terribly missed by six nieces and nephews - Kate, Emily, Oberon, Hugh, Sky and Bonnie - five of whom grew up within blocks of Bob, Laura and Jessie's house and remember with special fondness the backyard Labour Day barbecues that Bob and Laura hosted each year; grand multigenerational reunions with croquet in the afternoons (with lots of cheating) and conversation that burbled away late into the night. Of the many friends Bob leaves behind, special mention must be made of Dave Dell (who first met Bob in public school) and Jim McKillop (who's been through the healthcare mill himself) and supported Bob unstintingly through these final weeks and months. Later this month his family and friends will gather in Bob's garden to pay him tribute and see him on his way. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Salthaven. Online condolences may be shared with the family on Bob's Tribute Wall by visiting www.mpcemetery.ca