June 27, 1945 – February 13, 2012
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tom Stobart on February 13, 2012. Tom passed away with his family by his side at Royal Jubilee Hospital after a courageous, hard fought battle with multiple myeloma. Tom was born in Vancouver on June 27, 1945 and grew up on the East Side. He had a great love for sports, most notably football and rugby. Tom began his love affair with rugby at Sir Charles Tupper High School. When he moved from Vancouver to Victoria in 1973 to open the first Windsor Plywood franchise in Victoria, he brought his love of the game with him. He was very active with the Castaway Wanderers as a player and celebrated their journey to the Island Championships. When Tom retired from rugby he became a coach and mentor to many young athletes. His love for coaching equally extended to both the BC Summer Games and as a Selector for Rugby Canada’s Under 19 Junior Team. To know Tom was to love him. There wasn’t much that he missed – he lived life with a vigour and energy that was infectious. His sense of humour, quick wit and positive attitude were felt by all who came into contact with him. By far, Tom’s greatest love was the love he shared with his family. He is predeceased by his father, Tom Sr., and survived by his mother Mima, his sister Carol (Bill), his wife of 37 years Susan, his three children, Nicole (Kevin), Buck, Stephanie (Steve), many nieces and nephews, and his canine friends: Monty, Rocky, Maddy and Frank.
The family would like to express their sincere gratitude and appreciation to Dr. David Barry, and many close friends for their compassion, sincerity, and endless love and support.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday February 24th at 3:30 pm at Alix Goolden Hall at the Victoria Conservatory of Music – 907 Pandora Avenue, Victoria, BC. In lieu of flowers, donations in Tom’s name will be gratefully accepted to one of his favourite charities: Canuck Place Children’s Hospice (www.canuckplace.org). Condolences may be offered to the family below.
47 Responses
To the whole Stobart family my thoughts and prayers go to you in this difficult time. I did not know Tom very well but the times I did talk to him he was amazingly nice and very funny and had a smile that lit up the room. He and his wife Susan raised three of the nicest kids I have had the pleasure to know. May he rest in peace and always be remembered.
Susan, Stephanie and family,
I’m so sorry for your loss of your partner and your dad respectively. It is quite a journey you have had filled with lots of incredible highs and lows I am sure. My very, very best to you all.
Take good care,
Dianne
To the wonderful Stobart Family,
Our sincere condolences for your loss. We’ve been thinking of you each day and are sending our prayers to you all. We love you so much, and here for you through this difficult time.
Lots of love and hugs,
Jay and Jess Velikovsky
What an incredible man, so very deeply loved and admired. He will live on in so many hearts and rugby matches. So much love and healing to all of his family and friends.
My deepest condolences to the Stobart family.
I was one of the countless young men who have the honor of saying that Tom Stobart affected my life in a positive way through Rugby. Tom coached my oldest brother Dan, then Josh, then me. He left his mark on a generation of young men, and no doubt on the community as a whole.
Thank you for all you taught me,
may you find rest.
Tom,
You were a great mentor and coach to me for many years. I always appreciated your wisdom and encouragement throughout your tenure with CW. I will miss your unique words, tenacity, and “pep talks” – they always pumped us up before games! Rest in peace Tom, and may you look down on all of us with the pride that you instilled in us.
Sincerely,
Tristan
Please accept my sincerest condolences for your loss.
To you Tom was a husband and a father, but to myself and my brothers Tom was our rugby coach. Tom coached my older brother Dan at Belmont which lead to to his involvement in CW Rugby and the Crimson Tide team for the summer games. From that point on I wanted to play rugby and I too had the pleasure of playing for Tom as did my younger brother Dave at both CW and the Crimson Tide. Dave and I are are still involved in CW Rugby and this is all due to the time that Tom gave to coach Belmont, the CW junior program and the Crimson Tide. Rugby has had such a positive place in the life of my brothers and myself and Tom was such a huge part of this for us and for many others.
The example that Tom set as a coach giving his time back to the sport he loved is something I too have taken on in coaching Central Middle School the past few years. Tom’s legacy not only lives on in the lifes he touched directly, but continues on through the kids I am now coaching as I follow his example trying to instill the love of rugby and the positive values that come along with rugby in another generation.
Even over the past few years when I ran into to Tom, regardless of the struggles he was facing, he showed a true passion for rugby and for life. He will be truly missed in both tmy family and the CW rugby family, and by the many other lives he had a positive impact on.
Please accept my deepest condolences on your loss. Tom was a joy to know, and I will always remember his humour, courage, and love for all of you.
My thoughts are with you all.
Sue, Steph, Nic and Buck,
I am so sorry to hear about Tom’s passing…I feel lucky to have gotten to know Tom over all the years that I’ve been friends with Steph. He was such a wonderful man, and I always loved sitting and chatting with him, because what’s not to love really… His sense of humor always brightened up the room, and I will truly miss joking around with him whenever I got to see him.
He put up such a strong fight for so many years and I am glad he
has been around to witness what wonderful people his children have become and see all of their accomplishments and share so many wodnerful memories. Cherish the memories you have and hopefully you can all find strength in these memories to get you through these hard times.
I am very sorry to say that I will not be able to make it to the funeral, but I hope you all know if I was even a little bit closer to Victoria I would be there to celebrate such a wonderful life, as well as be there to support all of you through this tough time.
I will be thinking of all of you and sending my love on that day as I have been everyday since I have heard this awful news.
Take care of yourselves and each other!
Love Chelsie
So sorry to hear of your loss. Stephanie….I know this is a really hard time for all of you…Just know we are thinking of you….and the whole family.