For Robert — a gardener of people, not just flowers.
Robert McKinnon was born in Belize in 1947 and came to the United States as a teenager, carrying little more than ambition, an eye for beauty, and a love of music. From the 1960s onward, New York City was home. He trained in floral design at the New York Botanical Garden, designed for Spitz & Peck, and in 2002 opened his own shop, Fresh Cut Flowers, in Hell’s Kitchen — nearly two decades of arrangements made by hand.
Whenever a child wandered into the shop, Robert would kneel down and hand them a single rose, just to watch their face light up. In 2022, we lost him to duodenal cancer — a disease so rare our family found few answers and even less research to lean on. Robert’s Garden of Hope was founded by his wife, Paula, and his son, Michael, so the next family finds more hope — and more help — than we did.
