11067 Michael Erdmann, RMC Class of 1976
It is with deep sadness I announce the passing of my precious husband Michael on November 5th, 2023. He was a man I was blessed to have as my sweetheart for almost 50 years. He was a 2nd year cadet at Royal Roads in Victoria, B.C. on the fateful day we met What a wonderful life we had together!
Born in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia he grew up in Crofton, B.C. on Vancouver Island. Living by the ocean was so much a part of him. My “island boy”. He was a gentle soul and a very loving and kind man. He was known to be a storyteller, mischievous and had a wonderful sense of humour. He was brilliant with a remarkable mind, a true scholar. Whatever he put his mind to, he could achieve. He enjoyed and loved his friends and family. His engaging nature was felt by whomever he touched.
Michael will be sorely missed but he lives on in the memories we will share together.
For those of you that have memories and stories about Mike that you would like to share with Bev, she would love to hear them and can be contacted at girlofthemeadow@gmail.com
4281 Robert Burleigh, RMC Class of 1958
Bob Burleigh, 86 years old, died peacefully, late November 2, surrounded by family.
Married 60 years to Margaret (Leslie), loving and involved father for sons Mark, David, and Michael. Loving father-in-law to Stephanie, Suzanne, and Kristin. Proud grandfather of Luke, Kate, Grace and Elise Burleigh and proud uncle to his nieces and nephews who enjoyed his unwavering love, support, and silly sense of humour.
Born Robert Mark Burleigh on December 3, 1936, in Trenton, Ontario to Oscar and Zelda Burleigh. Bob is predeceased by brothers Charles and Arlen, survived by sister Pam (Lionel Cloutier), and remembered fondly by sisters-in-law Barbara, Val, Anne (Bill) and brothers-in-law Patrick (Brenda) and Jack (Sharon). Bob attended Trenton High School where he developed a passion for learning and sports, enabled by the teachers and coaches who supported him. After HS, Bob attended Kingston’s Royal Military College from 1955-1957 where he continued to excel in athletics. He led RMC basketball and boxing teams to become the Canadian Service Colleges National Champions, receiving the Marshall Memorial Award for outstanding skill and sportsmanship. He was also invited to attend the National Olympic Decathlon Training Program in Winnipeg in 1956. These experiences helped him understand the power of education and sport in his own personal development.
In September of 1957 Bob transferred to Queen’s University playing three years each of football and basketball for the Golden Gaels. He graduated with Bachelor of Arts (1959) and Bachelor of Physical & Health Education (1960) degrees and completed teacher’s college. In 1961, Bob began teaching and coaching his hometown, Trenton HS Tigers.
While at Queen’s, Bob met the love of his life Margaret Leslie who was completing her studies in nursing at Kingston’s Hotel Dieu hospital. Bob and Margaret were married in August, 1963 in Ottawa. In 1964, they moved from Trenton to Ottawa, where Bob joined the Phys Ed Dept. of Bell High School in Nepean.
When the role of Department Head of Phys Ed was offered at Annandale High School in Tillsonburg in 1965, Bob and Margaret moved their growing family to start a new adventure. Bob taught Phys Ed and Math while coaching at least 3 sports per year for close to 30 years. He felt fortunate to join skilled and passionate coworkers and community partners in developing student athletes, teams and the culture of the Marauders, Gemini and Tillsonburg sports.
Bob’s impact will endure in his son’s lives, their families, and his nieces and nephews. His love and support for his three boys knew no bounds. He modeled many roles for his family. Leader and playmate. Protector and disciplinarian. Expectation setter and motivator. Teacher and coach. Teammate and cheerleader. Joker and appreciative fan. Father and friend. Hero and flawed, vulnerable human. And always with love.
A thoughtful life-long learner himself, Bob loved the creative challenges of student-focused teaching and athlete-focused coaching. Students felt his empathy while learning Math. He was with you trying to understand how you thought and how you needed to learn. It was supportive… and it always included fun and humour. Learning to hurdle at track practice, defending the pick-and-roll at basketball practice, learning to tackle at football practice… Bob was a master of teaching the technical details, but his magic was in motivating kids. He wanted to understand you and was committed to your success, and especially when you doubted yourself. Winning the competition was clearly the objective, but playing the right way while developing character and self-confidence was the real priority.
Bob intensely championed the underdog, those facing personal challenges or feeling small, and he fiercely protected kids of all ages from bullies. His kind authentic interest in you was felt in each discussion whether you were family or a potential new friend. Humour was always, always… always at the ready.
Bob earned the OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations) ‘Pete Beach Award’ in 1992 for a life dedicated to helping young people achieve their full potential through sport. He is a member of the Tillsonburg Sports Hall of Fame as a Coach and Builder. The Glendale (Tillsonburg) High School Senior Male Athlete of the Year Award bears his name. Over his career, thousands of athletes and students spent time with Bob on fields and tracks, in gyms, classrooms and hallways. His students and athletes remain his extended family and were impacted deeply by his caring coaching and teaching.
Upon retirement, Bob & Marg spent time in Calabogie, Myrtle Beach, and Kingston, where they enjoyed a wide circle of friends. Bob maintained his passions for being active physically, fishing on the cottage dock with whomever wanted to join him, and spending time with his family, especially his grandkids.
He always enjoyed reminiscing about his past teams, the adventures they shared, and the ‘characters’ who played on them. The passion remains… And the laughter together.
Celebrations of life will be planned for later dates. You are invited to make a donation, in lieu of flowers, in Bob’s name to JumpStart or the Terry Fox Foundation.
7465 Jean de Varennes, RMC Class of 1968
Un conjoint, père et grand-père aimant qui avait la famille à cœur. On ne le verra plus dans ses plates-bandes ou en train de décorer pour des Fêtes.
À Québec, le 23 octobre 2023, à l’âge de 78 ans, est décédé monsieur Jean de Varennes, époux de feu dame Diane Villeneuve et conjoint d’Étienne Campagna, fils de feu dame Thérèse Terrien et de feu monsieur Gérard de Varennes. Il demeurait à Québec.
Militaire issu des collèges militaires de St-Jean et Kingston, il sert durant 37 ans au Canada et à l’étranger dans l’Aviation royale du Canada et le Royal 22e régiment. À la retraite, il range sa raquette de badminton et c’est sous le soleil de Floride qu’il passe du bon temps mais revient chouchouter ses fleurs dès le retour du printemps.
Il a quitté ceux qu’il adorait: son conjoint Étienne Campagna, ses filles : Anne (Bryan Tardif) et Catherine (Pierre-Marc Juneau); ses petits-enfants : Rosalie Tardif, Ayden Tardif, Eve Tardif et Lucas Juneau; ses frères et sœurs : Chantal, feu France (Yves Beaudoin), François (Christiane St-André) et Marie; ses neveux et nièces : Marick (Jean Brouillard), Katia, Myrka (Andy Shim), Jocelyn, Nadia (Michel Drouin), Olivier, Maxime (Zoé Villeneuve) et Geneviève; les enfants de son conjoint : Sophie (Robert Schmitz), Anne (Andrew Short), Charles (Slavka Côté-Claveau) et Luce; ses beaux-frères et belles-sœurs de la famille Campagna: feu Danièle (Louis Boudreau), feu Michel, Colette (Jean Burton Poitras), Geneviève (feu Serge Levasseur), René (Gisèle Lavertu), et Jean (Maryse Lagacé); ainsi que de nombreux ami(e)s.
7061 Conor James Brian Sheehan RRMC RMC 1966
In June we published a notice that mentioned after 49 years a missing persons officer with the Ottawa Police has confirmed that human remains found some ago in Gatineau, Quebec, have now been identified by the Gatineau coroner as belonging to 7061 Conor James Brian Sheehan, who disappeared at Ottawa, Ontario, on January 1, 1974. Sheehan was awarded the Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec’s Silver Medal in 1965, and the Political and Economic Science Prize in 1965, and the Political and Economic Science Prize in 1966.
His official obituary was just published:
WHO ONCE WAS LOST NOW IS FOUND
Conor disappeared on December 31, 1973, was reported missing to Ottawa police and became a cold case until this year. In 2023, a Quebec coroner matched Conor’s dental records to a body found in the Ottawa river in Gatineau in 1974. Conor was deeply missed over these nearly fifty years; he was a beloved son, a great brother and a cherished friend.
Conor trained at the Royal Military College (RMC) in Kingston and at Royal Roads in B.C. He was an air sea rescue navigator on our east coast. With the RMC, he was awarded the Lieutenant-Governor’s Silver Medal in 1965, and the Political and Economic Science Prize in 1965 and 1966.
In addition to his parents, Con and Sheila (deceased), he left behind his siblings, Dilis, Ciuineas, Niamh (Al – deceased) and Niall, and his brothers-in-law, Emile and Bernie (deceased), as well as many friends and relatives. He also leaves behind his nieces and their children: Sonas (Albert) and Owen and Darcy; Sophie (Luc) and Tristan, Nathaniel and Aurélie; Alexina (Jeffrey) and Isabelle and Evan; Megan (Paul) and Rebecca and Liam; Morna (Raymond) and Bernie and Neala.
The family is grateful to 7000Dave Haas Class of 1966, a faithful friend and comrade in arms to Conor, as well as a strong support to all the family over the years. The initial shock and grief has been surpassed by our shared memories of this loving and caring young man.
RCNC237 Stanley Everett Hopkins UEL, CD, MSc, P.Eng, Captain (N) R.C.N. (ret’d)
January 26th, 1928 – October 28th, 2023
Captain Hopkins, age 95, passed away at the Ottawa General Hospital after a short illness. Stanley, the son of Stanley Virgil Hopkins and his wife Ruby Hopkins (nee Corman), was born at the family farm on Guelph Line in Burlington Ontario. He was educated at Burlington High School and entered Royal Roads Naval College as a cadet in 1945, and subsequently attended the Royal Naval Engineering College Plymouth England and the Royal Naval College Greenwich England. It was during this period he met and married his wife, Pamela Rowe, of Kingsteignton, Devon. He served on H.M.S. Agincourt, H.M.S. Illustrious, on two appointments to H.M.C.S. Quebec, and on H.M.C.S. Bonaventure. He was the first Canadian Marine Engineer to graduate with a master’s degree in nuclear engineering (from the University of Ottawa). He went on to have a long and distinguished career in the Navy, overseeing the maintenance and repair of vessels at CFB Esquimalt and the building of new ships from his posting at DND headquarters in Ottawa. In Ottawa he served as President at H.M.C.S. Bytown Officers’ Mess.
After retirement in 1978 he joined L. E. Minogue & Associates as a partner. Following the sale of that company he continued as a consultant for a number of years and continued to be a member of the Mess. He was a member of the Naval Officers Association of Canada, the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers, the Canadian Institute of Marine Engineering, and the R.N.E. Quart Club. He had a long and happy retirement in Ottawa and the family cottage in the Gatineau Hills. He is survived by Pamela, his wife of over 70 years, daughter Julie, sons Jamie and William, sister Susan, grandchildren Andrew and Veronica, and many “navy” nieces and nephews. Donations to the Ottawa General Hospital, whose staff took great care of Stanley, would be welcome. A memorial service will be held at the Beechwood Funeral Home in Ottawa on Wednesday Nov 29th beginning at 2:00pm, with interment of the urn to follow immediately after.