Robin departed peacefully on his final travels on May 5th, in Victoria General Hospital, Victoria, BC, surrounded by his loving family. He will be dearly missed by his devoted wife, Jo, daughter, Jayne, grandsons, Tim (Zlatina) and Gavin (Chantelle), sister, Susan and brother, John. Son of Sidney and Violet Chown (nee Patrick) of the former Vulcan Arms Pub and Chown’s Coaches, Banbury, Oxfordshire, England.
Robin served in the Royal Air Force for 6 years, training as a ground equipment mechanic. During this time, he participated in several overseas missions in the Middle East, including a 2-year posting with his wife and young daughter in Aden (now South Yemen). Following his military service, he drove coaches in the family business, Chown’s Coaches, along with his father, brother and sister. He later became a service technician, establishing a successful business of his own. Robin and his family emigrated to Canada in 1977, eventually settling on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
Robin had a love of the outdoors, history and travel. He enjoyed hiking and boating in the Lake District, UK, and discovering the Canadian Rocky Mountains. During retirement, Robin became an expert in the life of Captain James Cook and was also knowledgeable in European military history through the ages. He and Jo traced the exploration routes of Captain Cook around the globe and visited the war memorials of Europe. They delighted in many far-reaching travel adventures together, including European river cruises, road trip explorations in New Zealand, a train trip through Australia and exotic beach holidays in the Caribbean and South Pacific. Robin was often busy researching and planning a future trip before they had finished the previous one! He loved writing amusing travel blogs which were eagerly received by family and friends, many of whom he made during their travels. Robin’s colourful personality and sense of fun will be missed by many.
Special thanks to the nurses and doctors in the ICU at VGH for their kindness and wonderful care of Robin.
Memorial Service to be held in the Sequoia Centre at McCall Gardens, 4665 Falaise Drive, Victoria, BC, Canada, on Friday, June 6, 2025, at 2:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, tributes, if desired, may be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
Condolences may be offered to the family below.
McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com
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John Patrick Chown
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Jonathan Chown My deepest condolences to my family both in Canada and here in the UK.
Nelli and I were fortunate to meet with Robin, Jo and my dad (John) last September 2024. Robin struck me as being as sharp and full of interesting stories and viewpoints as he was from previous meetings.Having done a lot of travel myself I was always excited to hear about Robin and Jo”s exploits around the world but also any advice he was willing to share. Which he did with great depth and accuracy when I had a couple of weeks travelling up the west coast of the USA.
As a child I always looked forward to the yearly Calgary Stampede posters I used to receive from him every July in the post which would promptly be blue tacked to my bedroom wall replacing the previous years edition.
Thanks Uncle Robin – until we meet again. Jonathan and Nelli.
In memory of “A good mate.!”. “As well as my brother.!!”.
Rain or sunshine. He was always there for me.
He was Nutty, Obsessed, & Passionate, about so many things..!!
But that was part of his nature which enhanced his character.
I’m going to miss our long chats with each other.
We both have strong opinions. Which is a characteristic of The Chown’s.
Sometimes we disagreed. But we always agreed on important issues.
Health issues dogged him for many years. But he always came smiling through.
He certainly was a man of character. Something which we loved about him.
To the end of my days. I will be lost without him.!
Until we meet again. “Robin” “My Brother & My Best Mate!”.