Born on April 9, 1933 in Manhattan, NY, Bob was the middle child and second son of John and Kathleen Garon. After serving in the 79th Infantry Division in World War II, John Garon moved Bob, his older brother John and his sister Louise to Los Angeles to take a job as a chef. Bob graduated from Los Angeles High in 1951. He enlisted in the Air Force and served four years as a Communications Specialist in Alaska during the Korean War. 

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After the war, Bob returned to California, where he enrolled in Los Angeles City College and majored in Journalism. In October of 1956, Bob skipped class one night to check in on the Catholic Youth Organization Federation dance at St. Kevin’s Parish held by the Kevinites (a group he had helped to organize) to see how things were going. It was at this dance Bob met Mary Rose MacDonald, a nurse who had recently arrived from Prince Edward Island, Canada and who was working at the Queen of Angels Hospital in Los Angeles. Bob and Mary Rose married on May 18 the following year and celebrated their 60th anniversary this past summer.

 

Bob continued to organize throughout his life, both personally and professionally.  He organized the first labor union in Phoenix, Arizona at CBS affiliate KOOL, within four months after his arrival. That earned him a trip back to Los Angeles. Bob worked in the Public Relations department for ABC Television for eighteen years before founding his own public relations firm which he operated for another twenty years.  

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Whether it was teaching catechism to children at juvenile detention camps, raising money for the Marianne Barratta Fund (which allowed Marianne to receive one of the first-ever kidney transplants), or serving as President of the local Little League, Bob believed in getting involved. He was a member of the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees for over fifty years. Bob formed the Franciscan Fraternity of St. Mary of the Angels Portiuncula of the Secular Franciscan Order.  The Order was canonically established (approved by Rome) this past summer. 

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Bob Garon was a voracious taker of pictures, exhaustively documenting family events before camera phones were ever invented. Bob loved to feed people, and in gathering his large and extended family. He was never happier than when he could combine love of family with his appreciation of food and cooking, and was an expert at making feasts out of ingredients left over from previous meals.  He was generous with his time and put his heart into every birthday card or letter that he ever sat down to write.  

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Bob was especially active in the Church and participated in each and every sacrament that his children and grandchildren made.  He attended as many of his grandchildren’s plays, concerts, graduations, and sporting events that his time would allow.