February 3, 1930 - January 30, 2019
Robin Hilary Hart born Feb. 3, 1930, passed away quietly at home surrounded by his family on Jan 30, 2019. Robin was born in Salmon Arm, B.C. He grew up on the family farm with his parents, Leighton and Marie, and his three older sisters, Suzanne, Laurie and Rachel, all of whom have passed.
He is survived by his wife, Jay, with whom he enjoyed 65 years of marriage. He is also survived by his children, Douglas and Christina Hart and her children Hannah Patterson and Lucas Patterson. Sadly, he was predeceased by his second son, Lawrence, who died in an aircraft accident while fighting forest fires in 1990.
Robin went to UBC where he studied for a degree in engineering. In 1951 he joined the RCAF reserve, spent the summer at Kingston Military College, and finally enrolled in aircrew training. He earned his wings on a Harvard aircraft at Centralia RCAF training school. From there he went to MacDonald, Manitoba for advanced training. He returned to Vancouver and was hired as a pilot by Canadian Pacific Airlines in May of 1953. Later that year, after marrying Jay, he was furloughed and got a job in Edmonton building radio station CHED. He was recalled to the airline in the summer of 1954 and spent time flying supplies into the DEW line radar sites for a year. What followed was a successful 35-year career flying both domestic and international routes on a wide variety of aircraft.
Rob retired in 1990 and concentrated on skiing, hiking, and maintaining the family home. His travels took him back to his beloved Blue Grouse cottage on Shuswap Lake and annually he and Jay enjoyed time on the Island of Maui.
A celebration of life will be held on Thursday February 7th at 12:30 pm at Celebration Hall (39th and Fraser) Vancouver. He was a much-loved man who lived life to the fullest. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the charities of your choice.