Richard Leon Boileau

Age 47, died suddenly May 19, 2012. Born in Granby, Que., the sixth son of a very large family. Predeceased by his parents, Roger and Jeannine and brother, Jacques, he leaves behind to mourn brothers, Pierre, Roch, Marcel, Normand and sisters, Chantal, Johanne and Josee and also many nieces and nephews and other dear family members. He grew up loving the Quebec outdoors, especially winter and was an avid skier, hunter and trapper, loved training race horses with his father and playing hockey. Richard enlisted in the military as soon as he could, actually thriving on Basic Training, due in no small measure to his ability to eat at remarkable speed. His first military posting was to a base which he thought was in Quebec. Portage la Prairie. It was, however, in far distant Manitoba and where he met his soon to be wife, Brenda Lyall. From here he volunteered for the Submarine Service and was transferred to Halifax, NS, where his two children, Danielle and Craig were born. After spending a few years as cook globe-trotting underwater on HMCS Okanagan he was transferred to CFB Kingston, Ont. where he spent a couple very hectic years honing his cooking skills and taking up sky-diving. From there he was sent west again to Manitoba, first with the PPCLI at Kapyong Barracks, Winnipeg and then with 1 RCHA in Shilo, MB. It was here in Manitoba where he rekindled the loves of the outdoorsman, snowmobiling, trapping and hunting, with many subsequent stories and adventures. During this time also he did a tour of duty in Skopje, Macedonia and was also selected on the crew to bring the “new” submarines purchased from Britain back to Canada. This tasking resulting in a nearly year-long stint in Barrow-in-Furness, England and then the long voyage from there on board the HMCS Chicoutimi to Halifax and then HMCS Victoria to CFB Esquimalt in Victoria, BC. Here he renewed his love of diving and requalified as ship’s diver, devoting many, many contented hours in the silence of the deep with nothing but the sound of bubbles to distract him from the beauty down there. During his time in Victoria he was assigned to HMCS Victoria, HMCS Vancouver and HMCS Protecteur and just to get him dried off a bit, he also did a tour of duty at the Golan Heights on the Syrian Border. He also found himself transferred back to his motherland, Quebec, CFB Bagotville to be exact, where he spent a couple of years before being transferred back to CFB Esquimalt. By now he was a grandfather of two adorable boys, Jessie and Nikolai who helped him from getting too serious. He found his last posting on board the submarine HMCS Victoria challenging but equally rewarding. The camaraderie on board was very special to him. Throughout his 28 year military career he has come to make many dear friends and hundreds of memorable workmates. He has been a very dedicated soldier and sailor and made many personal sacrifices for his second family. Richard was never one to enjoy sitting on the sidelines. He was a man of action and he died in an accident doing the sport he loved. He will be sorely missed by his family who only wish they’d had more time to share his life.

Memorial Service to be held at the Naden Drill Hall on CFB Esquimalt, Saturday, May 26, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. Reception to follow.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Military Family Resource Centre and the program of your choice. Condolences for the family may be offered below.

www.mccallbros.com.

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