KINCH, ROBERT GUY July 29, 1957 – September 30, 2020 Robert “Bob” Guy Kinch Bob passed away suddenly but peacefully, in the arms of his partner Margaret, at their shared home in Milton. Robert Guy Kinch, known as “Bob” was born to Frances Kinch (nee McInnis) (d.d. 2018) and James “Jim” Kinch, on July 29, 1957 at Scarborough General Hospital.
A dedicated son his entire life, he was the eldest of three children (Mary Murphy and Maureen Murphy), and part of a tight-knight family that included numerous double first cousins and many beloved aunts and uncles. He was an altar boy at St. Rose of Lima church (serving until he was 18!) and attended Neil McNeil Catholic boys school. He joined the Army Reserves in his teens, reputably lying about his age to get in a year early. He served first in the infantry with the Toronto Scottish Regiment, then later as a combat engineer in 2 Field Engineer Regiment, later renamed 32 Combat Engineer Regiment. He was an accomplished military marksman and instructor who several times competed for the Queen’s Medal in military shooting, twice coming in second in Canada with a silver medal. He participated in many domestic operations including security for the Montreal Olympics, the relief for the Quebec Ice storm, Toronto snow storm operations and Montreal flood relief. He built many bridges and a few playgrounds. He was a master corporal for perhaps longer than anyone else in the Canadian military, but was eventually promoted retired in 2017 with a rank of Warrant Officer after more than 43 years of service. The many generations of soldiers he trained knew him as “Uncle Bobby”. He also worked for several decades in the logistics, maintenance and training departments at Wardair, Canadian Airlines and finally Air Canada.
He studied history at the University of Toronto and York University and maintained a lifelong interest in military history and politics. He was avid martial artist, especially in Ju-jitsu and Judo who lived his life through those mindsets and principles. He was an uncompromising nerd who loved Star Trek, Star Wars, the Princess Bride, SF novels, Firefly (a long time before it was cool) and a first wave player of Dungeons and Dragons. He was also famous for his moustache which he started in the 70’s and maintained through many moustache-unfriendly years until they finally became cool again. An excellent writer, he wrote many unpublished novels ranging in genre from realistic military fiction and detective novels, to post apocalyptic science fiction. He finally found his audience on Quora and where he built up a devoted fan base to his answers to questions and his many stories. He touched almost as many lives as the books he’d read. With his ex-wife Monica Cotton (d. 2011) he was a father of four children (Megan, Madelyn, Crispin, and Kurt Cotton-Kinch) and grandfather to one (Esther Romandel). Later in life he met his loving spouse Margaret Lazdzin and became a stepfather to Anna and Milena. He spent his last decades with Margaret travelling and cruising the entire world from Europe to South America to Papua New Guinea, ballroom dancing and having many adventures. He was a soldier, a father, a teacher and a storyteller and he will be missed.
Unfortunately due to COVID-19, there will be a small service at St. Boniface Church in Scarborough with a more public celebration of life to follow at a later date.
Join us at the link below to share stories or photos of Bob as our substitution for a Down-East Irish wake. https://www.facebook.com/groups/368487934282584/ In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Bob’s granddaughter Esther’s Education Fund which is currently being set up. Please visit the above mentioned Facebook Page for updates.