Robert Wayne Hallman

Beloved husband of Marjorie (nee Walden) for 67 years. Loving father to Lynda with husband David Emmerson, and Heather with husband Rick Gosden. Wonderful grandfather to Jake, Zack, Cole and Holly Gosden. Predeceased by parents Lloyd Hallman and Mildred Gottfried, and son-in-law David Rife. Cherished brother to sister Elaine and husband Gerry Tompkins, sister Karen and late husband Robert Dekker, and sister Jane and husband Ken Tompkins. Loved uncle to many nieces and nephews.

Bob grew up in the town of Listowel Ontario to hardworking parents in modest times in a house full of laughter. Bob loved to tell stories and risqué jokes as well as pull pranks on people, a trait he said he got from his father Lloyd. Many times a family friend would come home, to find their front door barricaded with furniture or other pranks about their yard, that would announce that Bob Hallman had popped-in while they were out. No note was needed. 

Laughter was always front and center in Bob’s daily life. He loved TV shows like Barney Miller, Air Farce and Carol Burnett, British comedies like the Two Ronnies, On the Buses, Are You Being Served, Mr. Bean, Looney Tunes Roadrunner and Coyote, and of course the late night king Johnny Carson. His wonderful laugh in the living room kept two young daughters awake many a night.

Growing up in war times gave Bob a lifelong interest in military history. He was especially interested in the legendary missions of the Lancaster bomber. This was largely due to his idolization of his beloved uncle Harvey, who came to live with the family when Bob was very young. Harvey went off to war and served as a navigator on a Lancaster. Bob is remembered as a child sending weekly letters to Harvey overseas, even ironing and waxing autumn leaves to send along so Harvey could see the change in the seasons. Unfortunately Harvey never received a single letter.

Bob enjoyed a plethora of hobbies and interests. He was an accomplished woodworker, making over a hundred school style clocks for friends and family. He was also a carver, gifted painter, and loved building RC airplanes and flying them for many years outside of Brampton. Many of the planes he built are hanging from the ceilings in the house and a few decorated his room at Granite Ridge to the delight of the PSW’s and Nurses. His love for trains became front and center later on, so much so that he turned the entire basement into a train layout with detailed cities, mountains and countryside scenes. When Bob and Marjorie moved up to Muskoka in 1994 he had an entire second story addition added onto the house for a new train layout.

Bob started his career in education teaching at the age of 18 in a one room schoolhouse in the Markdale area teaching grades 1 through 8. He attended McMaster University part time, attending night classes and teaching during the day, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Geography. He was one of the first in his family to go to University. Later Bob turned to administration and was a grade school principal in Brampton for Madoc and Central Public Schools, and later Corliss Public School in Malton.

One summer’s day in 1958, Bob went to pick up his girlfriend at the time and her friend at the bus station in Galt Ontario for a weekend visit. That friend was Marjorie Walden. After their first meeting, Bob went home that evening and told his mother that he had just met the girl he was going to marry. He called and asked her out to the movies the next day. It was love at first sight and he asked her to marry him the day after, and she said yes! They didn’t tell her parents for a few more weeks, though. They were married that next summer in 1959 and stayed happily together for 67 years.

After retiring, Marjorie and Bob moved from Brampton to Muskoka in 1994. Bob and Marj had a cottage for many years on Lake Rosseau, but a fire in the late 70’s gave them the opportunity to build a house with the intention of moving there in the future. However, they didn’t just have a house built. Bob, along with his brother-in-law Evan and weekend assistance of many friends, built the entire house himself. It was the perfect project for a handyman who could fix anything, and there Bob and Marj lived a lovely retirement for over 30 years.

Bob and Marj travelled extensively through Canada, the eastern US, Ireland, Scotland, England and throughout Eastern Europe. They had a particular fondness for Newfoundland and returned to explore several times. Bob loved day trips throughout Ontario, always taking the less travelled way and often exploring unknown roads and having fun looking for abandoned towns and railway stations. He had a built-in GPS in his head and could return to a destination he may have visited once years ago without ever looking at a map.

Bob was a voracious reader who loved making bread, cutting the lawn, cats, good food with friends, and laughing and telling stories. He will be missed by all who knew him.

Many thanks to the staff at Granite Ridge Retirement Home for the wonderful care and compassion they gave Bob, and the hard work they perform every day to make life comfortable and dignified for their residents. Your kindness will never be forgotten.

A private ceremony will take place in September in Markdale.