ROBERT EDWARD GRIMSTEAD

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ROBERT EDWARD GRIMSTEAD Bob passed away very peacefully on the Sunday morning of October 7, 2012 in the Selkirk General Hospital. He was 86. Born in Winnipeg on August 22, 1926 he was the youngest son of railwayman William Grimstead (1880 to 1940) and Loa Antoniusdottir/Lowa Anthony (1888 to 1972); descendants respectively of British military (Royal Artillery arriving in Montreal in the early 1860s from south-west England) and Icelandic pioneers settling in Icelandic River in 1888. His paternal grandfather James (1837 to 1885) arrived in Manitoba in 1879 and homesteaded in Rosebank. Bob worked at many jobs throughout his life, starting at a young age delivering newspapers in West Kildonan. In his teens and during the 1940s he worked on a farm just north of Winnipeg and, while his three brothers served overseas, helped his widowed mother maintain her home. Later in the 1970s he worked nights driving a water truck at Assiniboia Downs, and then as a caretaker at Winnipeg Photo Ltd., retiring in 1989. But his fondest memories were of working on various manual labour crews in the 1950s and 1960s. He especially liked to reminisce about being on a multi-ethnic crew setting the natural gas line into Riverton. A hobby carpenter and general handyman, Bob enjoyed working on his cottage at Winnipeg Beach so much that it always seemed to be under construction. A kind, charitable and helpful soul, throughout his life he possessed a mysterious bond with nature: wild birds, rabbits and chipmunks would approach without fear and eat out of his hand. For 50 years Bob lived in the 1500 block of Pritchard Avenue in Winnipeg. In 2004 he moved to the Waterfront Centre in Gimli and in 2008 to Red River Place in Selkirk. A lifelong bachelor, Bob is survived by his sister Iris Insch. His brother Alvin in 1971, Jim in 1983, Walter in 2002, and sisters Mary Winter in 2004 and Anne Yarish in 2012 predeceased him. His nephew Scott Insch and niece Sharon Insch-Stefanik were at his side when he passed. Respecting his wishes, a private graveside service was held on October 16 at Kildonan Presbyterian Cemetery with Pastor Gerhard Friesen officiating. Iris and family would like to thank Dr. R. Lindenschmidt and the staff at Red River Place for caring for Bob. We also would like to thank the nurses who cared for him at Selkirk General Hospital, especially those during his final hours. Instead of flowers, cards and donations, a prayer to God thanking Him for the incarnation of the Christian soul, Robert Edward Grimstead, is enough.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Oct 20, 2012