John Safran, who's had countless collaborations with Father Bob over the years on TV and radio, said this of his recently departed friend:

What was Father Bob like privately? Somehow kinder and funnier than he was publicly. We somehow ‘fought’ nonstop from the moment the record button was pressed in 2004, through documentaries, radio shows and books, right through to filming this year, but we never once fought. More than being kind in broad brushstrokes, he was kind in small ways. When an elderly congregant couldn’t catch the Collingwood matches, he organised tapes from Channel 7 that he would slip to her, along with the Eucharist wafer, during communion. Bob was wise as Buddha. He attracted all manner of outcasts, not all pleasant, but he was open hearted to those people too. I asked him how did this and he said, “You don’t have to like people to love them.” I send condolences and compassion to Bob’s niece Peta who looked after him in his difficult final stretch, and to all his family and friends. When filming, it was an editor’s nightmare to cut from the shot before I'd burst out laughing each time Bob finished a sentence. I never thought Bob would ever stop making me laugh, but with the sad news of today, he finally has.

x John Safran

#BobMaguire #FatherBob #JohnSafran