Tribute

Bob was born in Prince George in 1949 to Les & Shirley Checkley.He grew up the only son in a family with four sisters, Lois, Catherine, Betty Jean and Christine. For Bob this was often a challenge, often enlightening, sometimes overwhelming but when he spoke of those years his memories were filled with love and a fondness for his sisters like no other.Bob was an avid outdoorsman enjoying both cross-country and downhill skiing. He was a baseball player, a hockey player, but it was in the game of lacrosse that brought him notoriety eventually resulting in him being inducted in the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, if you were to look him up you would have to look for ‘Dave Checkley.’The game of lacrosse also brought Bob to the love of his life, Kim. Kim’s brother Al and Bob played on the same lacrosse team and at a party one night in 1976 the two met. They went for coffee for their first date, and the rest is history. Kim and Bob were married in Prince George, November 1978. They had a home there for a while and moved to Lavington before settling in Kamloops to raise a family.In 1980 they welcomed their daughter Sara. Two years later their son Dan arrived. Sara not only shared Bob’s love of books but was also found watching sports and bantering with her father. Dan throughout the years has shared Bobs love of engines, cars and most importantly the endless projects they worked on side by side.In the Spring of 1991 the Checkley family moved to Vancouver Island and settled in Duncan where they lived until December of 2013 when Kim and Bob joined Dan and Tracy at the property in Cobble Hill.  Kim believed that of all their homes that Bob was happiest in Cobble Hill with his family close by especially after his shop was built and he finally had a special space of his own.Bob was a gentle man who lived by his solid moral code, he was a good provider for his family and had a work ethic like no other which allowed his family to always have a safe haven and a place to call home.  Often, this meant Bob had to sacrifice being home with them to accomplish it, but his work in the concrete industry not only facilitated this but allowed his family to experience the beauty of many parts of British Columbia, the Yukon and Northwest Territories along the way.If we were to summarize Bob’s loves, his soul mate Kim would be at the top of the list with his pride and love for his children Sara and Dan close behind.  His Mom Shirley, his dad Les, his sisters Lois, Catherine, Betty Jean and Christine along with their families were all so important to him.The Watt side of his family, Kim’s brother Al, sisters Joanne, Christine and Shannon and their families held a special place in his heart along with Kim’s mom Caroline who he was always very close to.His numerous nieces, nephews, uncles and aunts held their places in his heart, Bob’s daughter-in-law Tracy and granddaughters Jessica and Emily all made up what Bob loved most which was the idea of family and what that meant.  He may not have always shown it but in his own way all his family knew how important they were to him.After family we would have to say was his love, some might say obsession with reading.  In his lifetime we believe Bob has read in excess of 20,000 books and there are probably few that knew Bob that cannot pull up an image of him sitting silently with a book in his hands.He loved Formula One racing, he loved an Extra Old Stock after a hard day’s work, he loved his truck and would love even more to brag how he had only paid a hundred dollars for it but most of all he loved just helping out.  Whether it was with Dan and Tracy building bridges and chopping firewood, endlessly moving his granddaughters and kids, he would never say no.Bob had only just settled into retirement when his life was sadly cut short.  His passing has left an empty place in many hearts.  We trust that the library in heaven is vast and it will keep him occupied until we meet again.In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to KidSport Cowichan www.kidsport.ca/cowichan