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.
47 Responses
Brenda, enfants, petits enfants et famille Boileau,
I received the news this morning via the Military Logistic Newspaper, I had to read the article several times before it sunk in and I’m still numbed about the whole thing. Rick and I had recently exchanged messages via internet and his future seemed so promising and well deserved. We joined the military together, we were roomates in Borden back in the 80’s, briefly saw each other at the Tel Aviv airport during a UN Mission hand-over in the mid 2000’s and recently spent 2 years in Bagotville together where we had a chance to reconnect and spend a few weeks on our Leadership course at St-Jean sur le Richelieu. Brenda, I’m very sad for you and the kids, my thoughts and prayers are with all of you. If there’s anything that I can do to help you let me know. I will miss him so much, life won’t be the same without Richard. Bruno (un petit gars de Waterloo,Qc)
Although I did not know Richard very well, I woudl like to pass on my sincerest condolences to his family. It’s never easy to understand why we lose such wonderful people so yong, but I;m hopeful there is a grander plan for him beyond our comprehension.
Cheers and CGod Bless.
Brenda,
As your coworker i wanted you to know i am very saddened and sorry for your loss. I learned of this at work just yesterday and wanted to send my love to you and your family…..all my love!
Teri P.
Richard, nous étions lié par un lien fantastique…le 8326 nos recrues nous ont permis de nous connaitre et de débuté une carrière militaire côte à côte, nous nous sommes toujours suivi peut importe ou nous étions. Richard tu va me manquer. To all his family and friend everywhere my condolences.
Richard au revoir
brenda and family my most sincere condolences
richard and i had alot of fun times together in victoria
will miss him alot and my thoughts are with you
joe blais
Brenda,
We were shocked to hear of Richard’s passing.
Our hearts and thoughts are with you.
Stew remembers the many adventures on the Assinobine, in a leaky boat…his laughter, Sense of humour . The many good times will keep his memories alive.
We will miss him dearly.
If there is anything we can do , please let us know…we were unable to attend the memorial.
With all our love and condolences
Stew & Susana
Richard was an impressive man and good friend. I will always remember him as a proud submariner, great cook, lover of life and a gentleman who enjoyed a good libation and friendly debate. Richard’s return to the cook occupation as a CPO1 this year was greatly anticipated, he will be missed.
My deepest sympathy goes out to Brenda and family of the loss of Richard. I had the pleasure of knowing and working with him on several occasions, he will certainly be missed.
I will keep you all in my prayers.
Rick
I recall a time where we all gathered for a pot luck. Mac &I, Kirky&Dar, and of course Tater Tot and Brenda. Even as a joke Mac told me to buy a bag to tater dots and we would have that instead of potatoes. Well the boys were in charge of the chicken wings…….outside using the turkey fryer we had just brought home from Florida. there were various passthroughs for provisions by each of them within the next hour but no one asked for the roasting pan to pick up the wings out of their bathing oil! All Brenda,me and Dar heard was .”relax girls pour up a ceasar, some wine…a beer…little cooler perhaps,,,,WE WILL TAKE CARE OF EVRYTHING,!!!!
“we just put em on! Or not quite yet,,,patience girls we donT want to serve you with pink wings, Richard was adamant,,,No one is food poisoned on my watch,,,,hmmm the next time we saw them, the girls were out of wine & caesars, the cans were the only pile deeper than the s?!t chucking pile, the wings were reduced to something from the
smithsonian and the tater tots were still frozen solid! we laughed about it for years to come. Richards unique ever-ready smile, sense of family, both his own and his Navy family all enjoyed being targets of his humour. He always had an electric smile and big bear hug each time he had an occasion to drop in to the clinic, he always checked in with me too….and asking about Mac.
Brenda, thank you for sharing this unique and loving person with us even for a short time. Let the shoulders of many help with your heavy burden, we are hear for you my friend,
Ox Marlene &Mac
So sorry for your loss, I was lucky to have known Richard and I will always remember him for his great sense of humour. He will be missed by all.