In the earliest days of yoyo players running their mouths on the internet, Bob Bowden was always a voice of experience and reason. He was a good man, a good friend, and I’m damn sad to see him go. He’s spent several years now fighting cancer, and I don’t think it ever slowed him down. The picture above is just a few months old, and he looks old and tired (don’t we all) but content. Through all the treatments, I remember him posting about how much they sucked, but I never once heard him even come close to giving up.

I wanted to link you to some of Bob’s posts on the old yoyoing.com/news board, but that whole forum has long since crashed and burned. I wanted to call up specific bits of how funny he could be…Bob had an amazingly dry sense of humor that he shared often, but all those posts are gone.

I can talk about how he wrote a yoyo book, or how he ran a website that compiled links and resources because at the time no one else was doing it, and he though it would be useful. He did school shows with yoyos and he was on the Board of Directors of the AYYA and and and. But right now, none of that matters because he was my friend and now he’s gone. And I just miss him. I miss knowing that he occupied a small part of the world. A star went out, and everything is a little darker for it.

Goodbye, Bob.

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Robert BOWDEN / August 5, 1954 – August 6, 2013 / Bob passed away peacefully at the North Shore Hospice with family at his side after a lengthy battle with cancer. He is survived by his son Dominic of North Vancouver, his sister Sharon Calder along with her husband and Bob’s friend Roy Calder of White Rock, his niece Andrea McVey with her husband Iain and children James and Emily of Coquitlam and his friend Luzia (Dominic’s mother) from North Vancouver. He will also be sadly missed by the many musicians in his life and his coworkers at Save on Foods. Bob was born in Vancouver, BC to Robert and Charlotte Bowden.

His life-long love for music started at an early age and his family and friends will always remember the drum set and guitars set up in his parent’s basement and the frequent jam sessions. He was also an active DJ and musician, bringing his music to many venues and events. There will be no funeral service as Bob’s wish was that a benefit concert for the North Shore Hospice be held in remembrance of his name. It will take place Tuesday, August 13th at 7 p.m. Musicians and friends from across the Lower Mainland will gather at the Valley Church, 1160 East 29th street North Vancouver to help make his wish come true. Let the music play on…..for Bob. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the North Shore Hospice Society

Published in Vancouver Sun and/or The Province on August 10, 2013