Remembering

Just thought I would post this newspaper article I found about my uncle Robert Honour, who tragecially passed away September 17th, 2005. I jut got back from his funeral which was in Ontario today. I really do feel like writing but I am to tired to make any sense.

Robert Honour and Les Chadwick boarded a helicopter at Duncan Airport Saturday to do what they both loved: Soar through the skies above Vancouver Island.

Honour, owner of the North Cowichan Canadian Tire, and Chadwick, his assistant manager, were thrill-seekers whose outgoing personalities made them popular members of the mid-Island community, said family and friends.

But what was supposed to be a pleasant trip in Honour's private helicopter has left those who knew the two men devastated after the aircraft crashed and exploded in a Duncan field at around 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Honour, 51, and Chadwick, 29, were killed. Honour had moved to the Duncan area from Ontario in the past year. Yet he quickly made friends because he was a good looking guy who "always had a smile on his face," said Gary O'Brian, with the Duncan Flying Club of which Honour was a member.

"He sure fit in a hurry," said O'Brian. "He certainly had a love affair for flying, he had a twinkle in the eye when he got near the helicopter."

Perhaps part of Honour's ability to fit in to the community so quickly was his readiness to jump in and assist children, police and his new neighbours.

Saanich Const. Ian Ritchie said he approached Honour about four months ago to ask for corporate support for the Cops for Cancer charity cycle down Vancouver Island Sept. 24-Oct. 7.
"He had no idea about Tour de Rock but within the first 15 minutes he wanted to get every Canadian Tire involved and he volunteered right off the bat to shave his head," Richie said. When the police officer asked about bikes for donation, Honour simply asked how many. "He just jumped at it. Every time I went to see him he was so positive. ... I saw him that way with his employees and with a perfect stranger like myself."

Ritchie said Honour was collecting pledges and was looking forward to playing a part in the tour.

"I think he was just a person of generosity," Ritchie said. "He lived up to his name. He was a man of honour and sincerity."

Honour was well-known even at the Canadian Tire corporate headquarters in Toronto, where spokesperson Lisa Gibson said "he had quite a presence."

- Victoria Times