We regret to advise of the death of Captain Ronald Friedman, CD (Ret'd) on 5 November 2022 in San Jose, Costa Rica, where he had been living for several decades.
Ron was born in Montreal QC and attended high school there. He was a veteran of the Second World War initially enlistung in the Royal Canadian Engineers and, while in England, transferring to the Glider Pilot Regiment. Ron landed a heavy glider in Europe shortly after D-Day.
After the war, Ron joined the Regular Force as a Field Engineer. He then served much of his 20-year career as an instructor at the Royal Canadian School of Military Engineering in Chilliwack BC in the 1950s and 1960s. Recognized as a talented instructor, he was posted to the Forces School of Instructional Technique in Montreal in 1954. Returning to Chilliwack, he regularly gave outstanding lectures to other instructors.
Ron was Commissioned from the Ranks in 1963 and then worked during 1964-65 in what was the office of the Chief Instructor of the Royal Canadian School of Military Engineering (that was located in Camp Chilliwack Headquarters). He was posted to National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa in 1966, but he soon took his release from the Canadian Forces.
After his retirement from the Canadian Forces, Ron initially worked as the chief of staff for Campeau Construction, a large developer of homes responsible for building several neighbourhoods in Ottawa in the 1960s and 1970s. Following this work, he joined retired Colonel Al Loveridge (RCE), who was heading an experimental instructional program in Saskatchewan called New Start. This program had been established to assist persons with disabilities and newcomers to Canada to make a meaningful labour force connection.
Ron soon succumbed to a long-held desire to go sailing, so he and his family went to England, bought a sailboat, and sailed mainly around the Mediterranean for the next five years, Returning to Canada, Ron worked again with Al Loveridge, during which time he often would represent New Start at international conferences. After this period with New Start, the family moved to California, where he occupied himself with creating sculptures and paintings. After ten years, Ron moved back to BC, where he designed and built a beautiful home on the ocean in Sidney. Often on the move, Ron relocated to Costa Rica upon the death of his wife and he enjoyed retirement in San Jose until he died on 5 November 2022.
