Lifes Crossings

[jimmybeersa]

Today I lost a true friend..... An upstanding and outstanding Gentleman.
A loving Husband , Father, Grandfather and Great Grandfather. A man who was an accomplished Artist, a fine carpenter and a railroad modeler of out standing ability, a Teacher who was happy to share his knowledge. It was a priviledge to have known him.
It amazes me that as one jouneys through life ,if you are lucky, you meet people who make a your life so much richer. Robin was one those .
Robin was born in South Africa ,lived near and went to the same school as my wife Wendy.
Robin came to Canada to join the Canadian Airforce to obtain Pilot Training and went on to become a Canadian citizen.
When my Daughter and her husband decide to immigrate to Canada. a friend gave her Letty's e-mail address and so started a cyber friendship that has endured.
Robin and Letty then became surrogate parents to them , hosting them until they found jobs and were able to purchase a house, I am glad that Robin was able recently to attend the ceremony when they became Canadian citizens
Wendy and I will forevery be in their dept.
Rest in peace Robin and may Gods Blessing be upon you,

[yellowlynn]

Tho I have never met, conversed, or exchanged letters with him, over time I too have felt a closeness. I feel a deep sense of loss, not just for modeling skills, but as a person I could "know and trust". Rest, cradled in loving arms, with the assurance that many hearts have prayed for you. You are sadly missed.

Lynn

[Papa Bear]

I'm so sorry to hear that. I never got to meet Robin, but I sure enjoyed reading his posts here at The Gauge. He was a truly gifted man who always made you feel at home. I will miss him.

[shaygetz]

He was one of the first to welcome me here and a reminder that scratchbuilders are not dinosaurs. Half the work I've done in the last two years was driven by his inspiration, I'm honored to have known him, if only thru The Gauge. Peace, BC

[sumpter250]

Ed Mc Mahon, on the Today show this morning, said, of his friend Johnny Carson,"At the end of the day, I see the phone, and realize I can't call Johnny and talk".....................At the end of the day, Robin will not be there with cool and reasoned thought about some issue here on the gauge, or, to announce the start of a new scratchbuild.

[60103]

I can't say it much better than Jimmy did. Robin was one of the gentlemen of our hobby.
I met him a number of times at railway shows and we usually had a good chat. He was always interested in my modelling, even though it wasn't to his standards. The one piece I saw in person was exqisite.

[Pitchwife]

It is indeed a dark day, not only for modeling, but for the human race. He leaves a hole that will not easily be filled. My condolances to his family.

[spitfire]

Jimmy, you have said what we all feel. Robin was such a special person - an inspiration to the hobby with his wonderful modelling, and an inspiration to life with his great attutude and graciousness.

He will be missed - more than can be expressed in words.

Robin, wherever you are my friend - thank-you for everything. We will never forget you.

Val

[Doc Holliday]

Amen to that.
Doc

[Will_annand]

Well, said.
We will all miss Robin.

[KCS]

I'm at a full loss of words. I'm just coming to find this out as my Internet has been out of service for the last two days. I'm really sorry to hear about this and it's still a shock to me as we knew it was bound to happen. I'm really glad to hear that he went peacefully. I've never met the man but have talked with him once or twice by PM. I admired his work and talent. All of us here at the gauge are family regardless if we know each other personally or not. Robin was part of this family and shared great things with us and think this is something he wanted to share and that he did. I don't believe he's finished though.
My deepest sympathies to his family. I hope to see his trains well taken care of where ever they may end up as they are beautiful works of art that must be treasured.

Thank you for all that you have given and shared with us Friend. I raise my glass and give the horn one good last blow for our fallen but never forgotten amigo.


Rest in peace Sir Robin.

[mhdishere]

I posted this entry on my Blog, I wanted people to know what kind of man Robin was outside of this forum. I'm reproducing it here:

A good man died on the morning of October 17. I never met him in person, I only know him thru this wonderful place called the Internet. One of my hobbies is model railroading, and Robin was a regular contributor to one of the forums I frequent. Robin made beautiful models. His models were even more amazing because his material of choice was what he called cereal-board, which was cardboard cut from empty cereal boxes. Yes, this man, armed with stuff we all throw in the trash along with snap-off knives, glue, and acrylic paint from the craft store, built models that were unmatched.

This isn't about his models though, this is about him. Robin didn't just post pictures of his completed models for everyone to marvel at, he posted step-by-step construction photos so we could all see his progression from an empty cereal box to a beautiful model. He took our good-natured teasing about the cereal company logos apparent in his models before he painted them. Whenever anyone commented on the quality of his work he encouraged them saying that if he could do it anyone could. He encouraged many of us, including me, to give it a try. This was his magic, not only in building models but in sharing his expertise with the rest of us and encouraging us.

I like to think that Robin is in a place where he has a large pile of cereal board, where he never runs out of glue or paint, and where the knife never slips and nicks his finger. I hope to meet him there someday, and I know he'll be as willing to teach me there as he was here.

My life, and that of many others, was vastly improved by this man I would never have even heard of were it not for a shared love of modelling and a place where people from all over the world could meet. The world will be a little worse now, there is one less artist, craftsman, teacher, and most importantly good man in it. Robin had a gift for teaching and inspiring. His criticism was always constructive, he freely offered advice to anyone who asked and just as willingly accepted advice from others.

I'll miss you Robin, thanks for everything.

[Gary Pfeil]

Very nice mhdishere!!! How can I find your blog?

Gary

[N Gauger]

Good Work - really a nice tribute!!!!

[Clerk]

Sandy and I have met Robin and Letty several years ago and I can attest to everything Jimmy said. Whenever I had a problem with my computer or one of the websites (Trainboard and The Gauge) I would E mail Robin and he had the answers. We also sent regular E Mails back and forth.