December 3, 1922 - April 24, 2020
Love is the way you wear your hat ~
On Dec 3, 1922 in the little town of Pouce Coupe in northeastern B.C. Cecil Robert Goodvin was born.
Each significant change in his life was marked by the wearing of a different hat. The first hat was that of a farm boy, milking cows and walking barefoot down dusty country roads. After graduation his hat became that of a working man, as a telegraph operator for the Northern Alberta Railway.
From 1941 to 1945 the hat changed to a beret and the uniform of the Royal Canadian Airforce, where after D-Day he was part of the Canadian Forces in their push from the beaches in Normandy, through the Netherlands, and into Germany.
After the war a move to the lower mainland led Bob to a hard hat and a new career working in the sawmill industry, and to meeting Mary Adamache. They soon married and started a family.
A move to Powell River upgraded his hard hat to that of a lumber grader. He started teaching lumber grading and was promoted to Supervisor. In 1974 the family moved to the north, with Bob grading lumber for various sawmills in the area. Mary became ill with multiple sclerosis and passed away, leaving him to wear the hat of a single father.
With retirement the hard hat was changed for a ball cap. The ball cap became the hat of an athlete, which he wore on his many trips to the BC Senior Games travelling both within BC and around the world with his new partner Maxine Smallwood, earning medals in shotput, discus, and javelin. He enjoyed his retirement, keeping active and contributing to the community, socializing at Legion Branch 13, square-dancing, delivering newspapers, collecting wayward shopping buggies, organizing the Farmers Market, gardening, and most importantly, spending quality time with his family.
At age 90 Bob had his first operation, hip replacement. Shortly after that he moved back to the farm, where he was cared for by his daughter Bonnie and son-in-law Ken. His life was blessed with the time he spent at the Sunshine Centre, a senior's day program where the incredible staff went, as he said, "above and beyond" to make every day special. His hat changed again, this time to a yellow ball cap embroidered with "I Shine at the Sunshine Centre", designed by his granddaughter Kelly.
To his children Bonnie and husband Ken, Robert and wife Naomi, Helene and husband Gene, he wore the hat of "Dad"; to his grandchildren Kelly and husband Manny, and Ben, he wore the hat of "Gramps"; and to his great grandsons Jesse and Mateo, he wore the hat of "Pa". To his grandsons John and Ben Goodvin he was known as "Grandpa Goodvin". He was a humble man who loved them all very much and delighted in the learning and achievements of his family.
To everyone else who knew him - and there are many - he always had a story and a twinkle in his eye. His hat for them was "Good Ol' Bob".
Our heartfelt thanks to Dr. Moolman, and to all at Terraceview Lodge, where he stayed from late February, 2020 until he passed away peacefully on April 24, 2020, at age 97.
A memorial gathering will be held in the future for us to come together and celebrate a life well lived.
Loved by All, Missed by All.