We regret to advise of the death of Warrant Officer Ron “Big Ron” Snelgrove, CD (Ret'd) on 27 June in Vancouver, BC. Ron served the Canadian Forces for more than 39 years.
Born in Newfoundland, Ron joined the Canadian Military Engineers with 56th Field Engineer Squadron in St. John’s NL in the 1980s. A summer assignment with Incremental Staff at Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering in Chilliwack, BC convinced Ron that BC was the place to be and he decided to stay. Ron transferred to 6th Field Engineer Squadron and served there in every squadron position that a senior non-commissioned member could hold; Section Commander, Troop Reconnaissance Sergeant, Troop Warrant Officer, Squadron Quartermaster Sergeant QMS, and finally Squadron Sergeant Major (SSM). Ron was the SSM for the unit's 100th Anniversary celebrations in 2011 and retired shortly after. He was awarded the 125 Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal and the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal.
Ron’s true passions were running restaurants and boating and he had run a successful restaurant/bar in St. John's before he came to BC. Not having success in the restaurant business in BC he ventured into Computer Assisted Mapping (CAM). Ron was a partner in a successful company doing CAM work for the provincial government in the 80s. After Ron sold his share of the CAM company he got into boating where he captained boats, brokered them, and taught watermanship courses.
Ron willingly donated much of his free time to support the Squadron in every endeavour that the unit was tasked with. He was a Director, Life Member and a willing and valuable contributor to the 6th Field Squadron Museum. He was very passionate about everything that he took on. He was a member of the Burrard Yacht Club where he made many friends in the boating community. Ron founded and ran QuickNav Boating School and QuickNav Marine Training Centre Inc. for many years. He was also a member of the Coast Guard Reserve, the Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons, Royal Canadian Legion Branch #118, The Fraternal Order of Eagles as well as many other community associations.
A celebration of Life will be held at St. John's Anglican Church, 220 West 8th Street, North Vancouver (just past Queen Mary School) on Saturday, 14 July 2018 at 10:00 am. Reception to follow and to be announced at service.
