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In memory of those who have Crossed the Bar
ORRICK, Robert Cyril Mundell (Bob) - passed away peacefully in his sleep on August 16, 2022, at Delta Hospital in Ladner, BC. He was 88 years old. Pre-deceased by his baby daughter, Veronica Lynn in July 1957 and son-in-law Bob West in December, 2013, and his loving wife, his bride, Shirley May [nee Cruickshank], in February, 2019, sixty-five years, four months and nine days together, Bob is survived by his, daughters Patricia Anne [Steven] Young of Cedar, BC; Jacqueline Louise Orrick of Vancouver, BC; Joanne Elizabeth [Bryan] West of Nanaimo, BC, sons Robert Gordon [Janine] of Tsawwassen, BC; Michael Andrew [Irene] of Parksville, BC; brothers Brenton [Shirley] of Cowichan Bay, BC and Wayne of Campbell River, BC plus 13 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grandchildren.
In 1950, Bob left Esquimalt High School and joined the Royal Canadian Navy as a communicator. He was sworn into the RCN onboard HMCS SAULT STE MARIE. He served onboard HMCS ATHABASKAN DDE219 during the Korean War. During Bob's career in the RCN, he served onboard HMC Ships ANTIGONISH; ATHABASKAN; BROCKVILLE; STE THERESE; JAMES BAY; CAYUGA; SAGUENAY; FRASER; MARGAREE and GATINEAU with a short period onboard HMAS MELBOURNE, a carrier.
Following
retirement in 1975, Bob became a member of The Fourth Estate rising from
reporter/photographer to editor of a community newspaper.
Following his political appointment, Bob joined with three others and formed an international marketing company. When that enterprise ran into a roadblock and delisted, Bob became the sole North American distributor of an Australian hospitality product, then followed that as a private ESL tutor. During his twelve years as a tutor, he helped pupils from many countries including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, China, Venezuela, and Canada.
One of Bob's proudest accomplishments came during his term as National Public Information Officer for the Korea Veterans Association of Canada, Inc. Bob mounted an exhaustive three-year campaign to convince the federal government that recognition of the 27,000 Canadians who volunteered for service in Korea 1950-53 was long overdue. In November 1991, Ottawa acquiesced then struck and awarded the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal for Korea to surviving veterans of the Korean War and family of deceased veterans. In 1992, the Government of Canada recognised Bob's diligence and awarded him the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada to go along with the many other awards and medals that he received for service to his country as well as from the president of South Korea; the Kookmin Posang medal which is an official honour bestowed upon those whose outstanding meritorious service improves the lives of others and promotes national development, plus several Republic of Korea [South Korea] consuls-general awards.
Bob very much loved his family and took pride in the accomplishments of each member of his ever-expanding family.
Either as a member of the RCN or accompanied by his wife, Shirley, Bob managed to travel and visit six of the seven continents of this planet with Antarctica being the lone holdout. Among the many countries that Bob and Shirley visited, Israel with multi-visits, stands out.
Along
the path of life, Bob managed to research, write and publish four
non-fiction books: Indelible Memories, the RCN in Korea 1950-55; RCN Reefs,
an account of former navy ships being turned into underwater reefs to
support marine critters and as safe dive sites for recreational
divers;Canada's Three Korean Wars, a story about the navy, army, air force
and merchant ships in Korea 1950-53, and They Fought Valiantly For Their
Country, an anecdotal account of the Korean War as told by Korean nationals.
Additionally, he had two blogs: boborrick.com and Inre1.ca; moreover, Bob
was not hesitant in taking each level of government to task for being less
than stellar with taxpayers' money- he was well known for writing letters to
government ministers and newspaper editors.
Bob's first job was selling newspapers on the streets of Victoria when he was seven years old. He bought the papers from the newspaper office at 2.5 cents per paper and sold them at 5 cents each. It was his free-enterprise beginning.
Bob was a strong proponent of conservatism and free-enterprise; he moderately tolerated liberalism, detested socialism, and hated communism.
In a comment to his darling wife, Shirley, he said that he wondered just what his family members might think of him after he was gone. Just what were their thoughts as to Bob's principles and achievements and dreams? He hoped that they would recognise his principles, respect his deep-held conviction that free enterprise through conservative was the only route to follow and that his love of family was paramount, even if not always openly displayed.
Bob was loved very much by all who knew him, especially by his family and will be missed. He loved the Village of Ladner where Bob and his wife Shirley lived. He would frequently visit the many shops and business in the area where he was fond of saying "shop local" which he did.
Funeral service will be at the St. Andrew's Anglican Church, at4951 12th Ave, Tsawwassen, BC on September 24, 2022, at 2 PM.
Bob joined the RCN on 04 Jan 1951 and retired on 09 Feb 1975
Ships served in: HMCS ATHABASKAN - Served in ATHABASKAN c1950-52 during the Korean War HMAS MELBOURNE
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