Robert Augustus Maynard

It is with deep love and heavy hearts that we announce the peaceful passing of Robert “Bob” Maynard, who passed away at his beloved farm home in Cavan on April 21, 2020, in his 86th year, surrounded by family.

Bob was the devoted husband of the late Rita Maynard (née Vaillancourt), a steady and loving father to Kelly Maynard and the late Al Maynard (Lori Robbins), and a proud grandfather to Amber Maynard, Rob, Brandon, Brittany, and Hanna Maynard-Spasov. He is survived by his sister Myrna Terry and was predeceased by his siblings Ron, Sylvia, Pat, and Lorraine.

Bob lived a life rich in curiosity, capability, and dry humour. He began his career at A.V. Roe, where he worked as a sheet metal mechanic on the Avro Arrow and the Avrocar - a flying saucer developed for the U.S. Air Force. In 1975, he was loaned to Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) to help build tooling for Douglas Point, and spent much of his later career designing tools for the remote repair of reactor equipment. Bob was a brilliant problem-solver. He had a knack for thinking outside the box, and his practical, unconventional solutions often succeeded where others failed. He officially retired at the age of 75, though anyone who knew him knows he never really stopped working.

But Bob’s proudest work wasn’t in his career - it was on the 100-acre farm he built and lived on in Cavan for over four decades. He worked the land well into his 80s, doing physical labour daily, always fixing, hauling, or building something. His life there was full of stories that sound fictional but weren’t - raising deer fawns and bear cubs, tricking ducks into raising geese (and vice versa) for a laugh, working on top secret and history-making projects for the government, and becoming the subject of a museum photo exhibit. If he wasn’t working, he was cruising the property with a whiskey & coke in hand or tinkering with another project.

To his family, he was magic. He built a little chariot to pull his granddaughters behind his tractor, took his grandchildren stargazing under the wide Cavan skies, and passed on his love of nature, invention, and mischief. His children, Kelly and Al, have fond memories of road trips to Florida: Disney, Busch Gardens, and visiting their grandparents and other relatives in the sunshine. Those adventures, full of laughter and long drives, became cherished chapters in their family story.

Bob had a razor-sharp wit and was known for his unbeatable one-liners - delivered dry, with perfect timing. He didn’t go out of his way to be sentimental, but he showed up in the ways that mattered most. As a father and grandfather, he was thoughtful, proud, and present. He always made sure his grandkids were set up for success to camp on the farm. He didn’t need to say a lot to make you feel cared for and loved.

Bob was a legend to those who knew him. Brilliant, stubborn, hilarious, endlessly capable, and always a little mysterious. His loss leaves a huge hole in our lives, but his presence will be felt every time we look out at the stars, hear an old family story, or walk the land he poured so much love into. We’ll miss him always.

A joint celebration of life for Bob and his son Al will be held on the family farm at 304 Morton Line, Cavan, on September 17, 2025, at 11 AM, and all who knew and loved them are warmly invited to attend. Light refreshments will be provided and the celebration will continue into the evening with a campfire. The family welcomes anyone who would like to stay overnight and join us in camping on the property. Please bring lawn chairs to the celebration of life as seating is limited. We encourage you to use the space below to share any memories or stories of Bob.