OBITUARY.
'Cheeky bugger' had a daredevil streak
Robin Carnachan's daughters would describe the Taranaki man as incredibly stubborn, but it was that stubbornness that saw him make it to 83.
It's also a trait that both daughters Leanne Murray and Tracey Schoemaker say they've inherited.
Carnachan, who died on February 17, had been through a heart attack, prostate cancer, Parkinson's disease and diabetes over the last 30 years but pulled through all of them because he still had things he wanted to achieve - such as skydiving, which he ticked off his bucket list at age 69.
"He always wanted to do a tandem skydive and mum said 'over my dead body'," Murray said.
So when his wife, Chrissy, died 15 years ago he became a bit of a daredevil. Not only did he go skydiving, he bungee jumped off the Auckland Harbour Bridge and did the jump off the Sky Tower. "He had the biggest grin on his face."
Carnachan was born in Waihi but moved to Taranaki as a toddler and went to Central School and later New Plymouth Boys' High School.
When he left school he had a plethora of jobs but there were two that left lasting impressions. The first was as a driver for Tip Top icecream because that was where he met his beloved Chrissy.
"She was at the Spurdle Dairy and he'd time his deliveries just right because he thought she was a bit of all right," Murray said. "From what we hear it was love at first sight."
Then in 1985 he began working at the Shell Service Station in Inglewood, now Z, where he would stay for 20 years and become very well known in the community.
"He loved that job because he got to talk to people all day," Schoemaker said.
"He's a cheeky bugger, that's what we got told all the time," Murray added.
Carnachan was a doting grandfather to his five grandkids. He always had treats on hand for them and made them certificates, which was a tradition his wife started but Carnachan carried on.
After a stroke Carnachan reluctantly moved into Marinoto Rest Home in Inglewood, where he'd still have treats around for when the grandkids visited despite having diabetes.
It didn't take long until he had the staff wrapped around his finger and he would get garlic bread for breakfast.
"He called it home and they were his family and he gave the nurses cheek," Schoemaker said.
Robin Carnachan: October 17, 1936 - February 17, 2020.
Source: Taranaki Daily News, 26 Feb 2020.
Chris Korte's New Zealand Genealogy Project
1936 - 2020 (83 years)
Has no ancestors but 9 descendants in this family tree.
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