We lost a member of the Bulletin family this week. Bob Bova, our lawn guy, our snow shoveller, our friend, passed away Wednesday.
So I’d like to take a few minutes to tell you about Bob — or Boberama as our former co-worker Karen dubbed him. Oh how he’d grin when we’d yell Boberama! when he’d walk in the door.
We saw Bob often, and he always brightened our day. He dropped by the Bulletin every day, to judge whether the lawn needed watering or cutting in the summer, or to shovel in the winter. On snowy days, he’d come down to shovel two or three times. And every time he came to the office, he’d stop to shoot the breeze.
We talked about what was going on in town; the Dynamiters — he was an avid fan and was one of the drivers behind the Wall of Fame at the Civic Centre; politics — he didn’t have a lot of use for politicians of any stripe; and the weather.
Bob loved to talk about the weather. He’d always asked me what the forecast was — I think my reliance on weather apps amused him. Just last month, I was complaining to Bob about how cool it was and he said, “Right around June 23 it will change to summer.” And he was absolutely right. It changed exactly at that time.
Bob knew weather because Bob loved to grow things. He had a greenhouse and he’d talk to us about the progress of his plants. He’d bring us tomatoes. When he went to the Okanagan, he’d bring us apples.
Last year, I mentioned that the deer had eaten my flowers and he went home and came back with annuals from his greenhouse. “Deer don’t like these,” he said of the little yellow flowers. He was right again. They bloomed all summer and the deer left them alone.
My co-worker Nicole’s son has a pet Bearded Dragon. When Bob found out that the dragon eats kale, he started growing it for him.
And wow, could Bob take care of a lawn. He prided himself on a green, weed-free lawn.
A few years ago, after the City passed its pesticide bylaw, I looked out the window and there was Bob, applying Weed and Feed to the lawn. By the way, the Bulletin office is directly across the street from City Hall.
I saId, “Bob, you can’t do that. They passed a bylaw.”
“Those **** heads aren’t going to tell me how to take of a lawn,” he said.
Karen and I help run a charity meat draw each week at the Elks Club, where Bob was a member. Every week, he’d come in and buy three tickets. One for Karen, one for me and one for Bob. He was tickled if he won. Even more so if Karen or I did.
Bob Bova was a wise, sweet, generous, gentle man. We know his family will miss him very much. So will his family at the Bulletin.