Robert "Bob" Roy Gardiner

Suddenly, on February 5th, 2025. 

~writer, actor, director, beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother-in-law, uncle, friend and raconteur~

He leaves behind his beloved wife of 51 years, Marnie Edwards.

Bob was famously debonair, stylish and astute, with a compelling story for every occasion. His life in the arts spanned more than seven decades and he worked as an actor, writer, journalist, filmmaker, producer, director and teacher. He was a pillar in MacKay United Church, known for his powerful readings, a pilot with a passion for adventure, a dashing romantic, an inspiring mentor and a loyal friend.

Bob worked for CBC, Global News, the Ottawa Citizen, the Ottawa Journal, the Kingston Whig-Standard, and in radio. He taught at the School of Journalism at Carleton University and at Algonquin College, where he taught radio broadcasting and documentary filmmaking.

He was the host of Four for the Road and wrote the beloved 1970s national children’s television program Hi Diddle Day where he also appeared on-air as the famous Mr. Post. His filmmaking career took him all over the globe, including with key projects in Italy, Cyprus, the Middle East and Northern Canada. He made video documentaries and training films for the Department of National Defence and CSIS and worked on CBC documentaries including Flight, the Passionate Affair, and the Actra-nominated  Golden Triangle.

Bob was also an award-winning playwright, with accomplishments including Glengarry Days and World Worth thy Winning. He was the first to bring plays into the Kingston Penitentiary and, once there, used his talents to help the inmates edit their own newspaper.

A true Renaissance man, Bob was also an accomplished chef who wrote the cookbook Taste of History, which included both recipes and the cultural histories behind the dishes before those texts were popular. He co-founded a global newspaper for air travel, worked as a doorman in London (where he met Laurence Olivier), and was a key figure in Ottawa’s theatre scene, working with the Dominion Drama Festival, The Ottawa Little Theatre and Orpheus, where he met Marnie on the set of Camelot.

Bob loved and is survived by his children Jessica, Rob (Tina), and Fred Gardiner, grandchildren Marlowe Heslin-Gardiner (Emily Wilson), Jordan Martin (Alex), Cassidhe, Sarah, and Jade Gardiner, as well as great-grandson James Martin. Sadly missed by the Edwards (Edmond, Campbell, Elizabeth, David, Darlene Dudar, Kate Freeman), Fisher (Caitlin, Jodi, Mitchell, Harriet, Stella-Charles), Harry (Omarre, Melisa, Chase, Miles, Abigail and Genevieve) and Stinson (David, Diana, goddaughter Kate and James) families for whom Bob was a constant presence these last 50 years, inspiring and making us laugh over countless Sunday dinners and stories and helping to hold us together in difficult times. Bob’s passing marks the end of a golden era.

Bob is predeceased by his mother Myrtle and his father Charles "Chuck" Gardiner, the famous Chicago Blackhawks goalie, inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and the friends of his Winnipeg childhood - Ken, Jack, Arthur, Charles - who gathered annually their whole, long lives.

Friends and family are invited Monday, February 24^th for a Visitation to be held in the sanctuary at MacKay United Church, 39 Dufferin Steet, Ottawa from 5-8 p.m.
A Funeral Service will be held at MacKay United Church, Tuesday, February 25^th, at 2 p.m., followed by a reception in the Memorial Hall.

The family would like to express their gratitude to the first responders, to Reverend Peter Woods and to Montfort Hospital staff for their care, compassion, and sensitive treatment. A special thank you goes to Dr. André Gauthier for his dedicated personal care of Bob over the last 20 years. For those who wish, memorial contributions to MacKay United Church are appreciated.