The club regrets to announce the passing of our fellow club member, Richard “Rick” Bennett (VA7RLB).
We received word today (August 7th) that Rick had passed away the previous evening at Ridge Meadows Hospital after a month-long stay.
Rick was a retired plumber and despite being relatively new to the hobby, was an extremely energetic user of VHF and UHF. He was known to many on the local repeaters, especially VE7RPT where he rarely missed a check-in on the Rainbow Country Net. He was also a regular on the North Shore Health and Welfare Net and recently took on net control duties for that net. He had a deep love for Kenwood radios and took great pride in talking about his latest Kenwood model or the next model he was looking at. Sometimes Some club members would drive by his house just to look at what antennas he had added to the roof or backyard, needless to say it was quite an assortment.
Even while in the hospital, Rick’s love for the hobby was apparent as he had his radio at his bedside and for most of his stay, he rarely missed his favourite nets, including our club’s own net. Occasionally his check-ins would be interrupted when he would say that nurses had come into his room. The MRARC weekly two-meter net on Wednesday, August 7th was dedicated to Rick’s memory. A moment of silence was held and many of the net visitors commented about Rick.
A memorial service for Rick will take place this Saturday, August 10th from 12-2pm at the Pitt Meadows Heritage Hall. The space is large and can accommodate anyone who would like to come and celebrate his impact on all of us and his life.