Robert Edward “Bob” Barmby

July 8, 1928 – January 26, 2026

Bob Barmby grew up on a farm near Lang, Saskatchewan, the eldest of five children born to Thomas Walter Barmby and Marjorie Sophia Wight. An excellent horseman, Bob was operating heavy farm machinery by the age of six, including delivering grain to the local elevators at harvest time. Bob’s father was a founding member of Consumer’s Co-operative Refinery Limited, which was established by a group of Saskatchewan farmers during the depression and is now part of Federated Co-Operatives Limited. To continue the work of the cooperative, Bob’s father moved the family to Regina where Bob entered Balfour Technical High School. Bob became an active member of Sea Cadets during WWII, and one of his proudest moments was serving as a member of the Honour Guard during a June 1944 visit by Princess Alice, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and her husband the Earl of Athlone and Governor General of Canada. After high school, Bob worked in a Vancouver Island logging camp and later at a federal weather office in Yellowknife. Transferred to Edmonton, Bob met and fell in love with Maureen Elaine Ball, and they married in 1953.

To support a growing family Bob began working in the petroleum industry, beginning with Canadian Industries Limited in Edmonton, while sometimes moonlighting as a cab driver. He then worked as a senior operator for Phillips Petroleum in Taylor, BC, and then for Chevron in Nevis, Alberta. In 1960 Bob was hired as a senior operator at the new White Rose Refinery in Bowden and he began commuting to Red Deer, where he and Maureen raised their five children. On his fifty-fifth birthday, Bob retired as second-in-command at the refinery, now owned by Shell, and began working as a consultant on major energy projects in northern Alberta.

A regular at the gym into his 90’s, Bob was always actively athletic, beginning with high school track and field, football with the Regina Dales, and later golf, swimming, curling, skating, slow pitch and half marathons. In his youth Bob developed a strong interest in epic narrative poetry, The Highwayman being one of his favourites, and which he often parodied. Always close at hand, even to the end, were the Collected Poems of Robert Service. His other interests included winemaking, calligraphy, woodworking and photography, and he excelled at them all. A passionate Saskatchewan Roughrider fan, his semi-retirement allowed the opportunity to become a very active volunteer for many worthy causes and organizations, much like his wife Maureen. He volunteered hundreds of hours at Sunnybrook Farm, where he developed a reputation of being able to restore any vintage tractor, mainly because he had driven many of them in his youth. One of his favourite volunteer activities was driving a vintage tractor in the annual Red Deer parade, which pulled a manure spreader manned by the local MP and MLAs. In 2013 Bob received the Mayor’s Recognition Award for Citizenship for 35 continuous years of volunteer service to the Red Deer community.

Bob is predeceased by his loving wife Maureen (1995), parents Walter (1985) and Marjorie (1989), brother Clarence (1941), sister Marion (1972) and sister-in-law Lenore (2016). He is survived by his brother Harold, sister Marcia (Ken); five children Jim (Moragh), Susan (Dave), Ron (Lysle), Kathy (Glen) and Terry (Andrew); ten grandchildren Tony (Christine), Jesse (Carly), Peter, Rebecca (Nathan), Alanna (Ryan), Anna (Aidan), Brett (Claudie), Brant (Semone), Katie (Alex) and Jack; eight great-grandchildren (Damon, Eloise, Jacob, Lucas, Archer, Alice, Wilder and Kit), his dear friend Del, his favourite niece Patty (Josef) and his amazing sister-in-law Marguerite.

The family extends a special thank you to Kristine and her fabulous team at Harmony House, especially Max, for the wonderful care they gave Bob in his declining years.

A celebration of Bob’s life will be held at 1:00 PM Tuesday, February 3 at the Eventide Funeral Home, 4820 45 Street in Red Deer, with internment to follow at Alto Reste Cemetery. The service will be live streamed. Friends are welcome to join the family for lunch afterward at the funeral home.

 

To view a livestream of the service, please visit https://my.forever.link/robert-barmby

• Date : 2026-01-26
• Location : Eventide Funeral Home