On Wednesday Feb 8th, 2017 at 9:30 Bob Hawley passed away. He had suffered for the last three years with dementia but was in a home and very happy in his world. Right to the end if you stopped in to visit dad at the home and asked him how his day was he would almost always say it had been good, and he would have grand stories to tell you regarding everything he had worked on that day. From fixing motors to running wiring for lights. On the odd day he would say he hadn’t had a good day and you asked him why he would say a car had broken down and he couldn’t find parts or that he hadn’t been able to solve some mechanical problem.
Dad was a fighter, there was no adversity he could not overcome. At the age of ten he was shot point blank in the knee with a 12 gauge shotgun while out hunting in the marsh with his older brother Ted. It was the war years and medicine wasn’t what it was today. He had no pulse by the time they got him to Winnipeg and his odds of survival were bleak. By the time they stabilized him he was conscious and they told him they would have to remove his leg. Dad insisted they keep the leg and they did but they told him he would never walk. Dad proved them wrong, first with crutches and eventually on his own. Dad left school in grade ten and went to work in the elevator trade but soon grew restless. The age of TV was upon the world and dad got a job with CBC. He loved the work and learned as he went, eventually becoming a Lighting Director and Technical Producer. Dad was a tinkerer and he could fix anything. He could strip an engine down with a flat head screwdriver and a crescent wrench and put it back together and it would run better than it did the day it left the factory. He never let anything get in his way, including designing a pedal for a ten speed bike that allowed him to ride even though he could not bend one leg.
Now unlike most of us, dad didn’t meet that special lady in his teens or early twenties. Dad caught the eye of the girl he would spend his entire life with at a Tally Ho…when he was nine! Mom and dad led a full life, having built three homes and two cabins, from scratch. I don’t mean they oversaw contractors, I mean they tied every piece of rebar in the concrete and pounded every nail.
Dad loved the cabin, Lake of the Woods, mom and dad cut the mile long road in off the highway to their property by hand (axes and Swede saws), when they were sixteen. Mom and dad spent their time there and in Florida during their retirement years.
Dad will be sadly missed by his wife of 61 years – Diana, sons Jerry (Cheryl and grandsons Christopher and Ryan) and Jeff (Tammy and granddaughter Sarah). Thank you to the wonderful nurses and staff at the Kenora Hospital and Pine Crest nursing home.
A celebration of dad’s life will be held at 1:00 pm on Friday, February 17th at Sobering Funeral Chapel, 1035 Park Ave E, Beausejour Mb.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Bob’s memory may be made to a charity of your choice.
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Glenn Weston
My deepest condolences to Diana, Jerry, Jeff and your families.
I was very young but have wonderful memories of Bob. I remember hearing the story about how Bob was shot as a child and of cutting the road to the cabin.
Some of my most cherished memories as a child are of spending time at Bob and Di’s cabin and boat house at Lake of The Woods. It holds a special place in my heart.
Bob may not have known but we also shared a love of the CBC. I retired after 34 years back in 2014. Still working as a Technical Producer for Dome Productions now.
So very sorry for your loss, Bob will be missed by all whose lives he touched.
Glenn
Pinnacle Port Executive
The members of the Pinnacle Port Activities Association were sadden to hear of the passing of Bob and wish to extend their heartfelt condolences to Diana and family.
Over the years that Bob & Diana wintered at the Port they made so many friends and shared lasting memories. May your memories of your father and beloved husband help to sustain you at this most difficult time.
Their extended family at Pinnacle Port will truly miss the Hawley’s and will forever be in our memories.
Kathy Stokes
Hello Diana,
Bob and I extend our condolences to you and your family on the death of Bob. Another classmate from General Steele and Viscount Alexander schools gone! The beautifully written obituary brought back many memories of the years we all shared so long ago. We were so very lucky to have been brought up in Fort Garry. The friends we made then in those small schools have stayed with me and I am sure with you and Bob all these years. In fact I have just sent emails to Fred Peterson in California and Ken Godwin in Victoria to tell them about Bob’s death.
If you are in Winnipeg sometime, please give me a call 204 269 2733. I’d love to hear from you. I’ve tried to keep track of our class so we could have a great chat about some of them. I can see us now sitting in rows at General Steele listening to Mrs. McIntyre. Best wishes to you and your boys.
Kathy Stokes