Ronald Aubrey Gomez

Ron was born in Toronto, Ontario to Harry and Clariss Gomez and was baptized in North Bay, Ontario.  His family moved to Charlottetown, P.E.I., and when Ron was 9 years old they moved to Vancouver. He attended John Oliver High School and played clarinet in the Kitsilano Boys Band, under the direction of Maestro Delamonde.  At the age of 16, he apprenticed as a dental mechanic.

Ron met his wife of 65 years, Peggy, in the choir of Chalmers United Church in 1951 and landed a job with CPR working on rail cars.  At Chalmers, Ron and Peggy formed many close friendships through the young people group, and continued to gather on New Years Eve for many decades following.  Ron and Peggy were married at the church in February of 1954, and had their first child, Pauline, in September of 1955, and moved to their house of 38 years on Sherbrooke Street.

Ron then started working at the post office and they continued raising their family, having 4 more children, Terry, Derek, Randy and Ellen.  Ron would work for the federal government for 32 years, after leaving the post office for Transport Canada.

Ron volunteered for various community organizations, including Wilson Heights United, beginning in 1959.  In the 1960’s, Ron was a union shop steward, helping to organize the first national strike of postal workers.  He also ran for Alderman twice, with Harry Rankin and the COPE team.

Ron had a lifelong love of playing soccer, playing himself on teams, and encouraging 4 of his children on the soccer pitch, with their various teams.

Ron liked to do things himself, and after hiring a company to raise the house, he finished the entire basement.  After the Delta Youth Orchestra was formed by his father Harry in 1971, Ron and Peggy, began a years long involvement to help build the organization, which is now known as the Richmond Delta Youth Orchestra.

Ron enjoyed ocean fishing with his good friend Harry Clark.  They met in North Vancouver, while working  with the post office, and when Harry moved to Campbell River and bought a boat, Ron would visit twice a year, and bring back a great haul of salmon.

Ron and Peggy celebrated the fruits of many years of work, with the opening of the new Kensington Community Centre along with their close friends Bill and Ruth Strong.

Through the mid 70’s, Ron completed his high school diploma and a Bachelor of Business Management, through the night school program at UBC.  Later, he taught Health and Safety Management at BCIT.

Ron retired at the age of 56 (1988), from Transport Canada, as a health and safety manager, where he visited BC airports to train employees.

Ron and Peggy moved to Burnaby in 1993 and pursued their mutual love of travelling.  They enjoyed cruising, train trips, bus tours in Europe, RVing in Canada, the US and Australia.  They went to a royal wedding in Tonga, and visited Toronto many times.

Ron continued to be involved in social housing with the expansion of the Fairhaven Care Facility, and the Manor near Wilson Heights, through BC Housing.  He took care of the day to day maintenance of his beloved church, balancing on ladders, painting and repairing whatever needed to be repaired.

Ron always enjoyed physical activity, working out and running with YMCA groups, at Langara College, and at the Edmonds Community Centre, and only started to slow down a few short years ago.

Ron’s mantra was to be in service of others, and this he did in the church community and with his children, 8 grandchildren and 1 great grandson.  His family was central, as he created a stable environment, the opposite of what he experienced, by hard work and self discipline, continuing to learn and and take care of the needs of our community.

You are invited to leave a personal message of condolence for the family.