The Village of Osgoode comes out to support the families of Bob Sunstrum and Rob Brewster.

Catching up on some recent activities...

A tough weekend of sorts for residents of Osgoode with not one but two celebrations of life for two very impactful men in the community. Bob Sunstrum(74) passed away in late November of 2023 and his service was held this past Saturday. Rob Brewster (64) died March 2, 2024 and his service was held this past Sunday. Both passings were sudden and unexpected so the blows to their families and friends as you can imagine were devastating.

What wasn't was the outpouring of support since their passings but also this past weekend at the Osgoode Legion where (appropriately) both celebrations of their lives were held, Bob's on Saturday, Rob's on Sunday.

Bob Sunstrum and his fantastic wife Maryann were Osgoode residents for decades. Their son Greg, a man we affectionately refer to as 'Humfire' is a dear friend of mine and their family had to be overjoyed with the community's support on Saturday. I grabbed a pic with Dean Holmes, Gerry Dewan and Hughie Doyle- and it's not just their own individual tenure as forever residents of the area, it's their families who cut an amazing swath through so many lives as have the countless others who came out representing 'old Osgoode' to support the Sunstrum's....It was an incredible afternoon for an incredible man who touched so many lives. RIP Bob....I always enjoyed any and all conversations with you, you will be sorely missed, my friend.

Rob Brewster was a transplant from Chateauguay, Quebec who not only made Osgoode his home but strived to make it a better community through his endless volunteer work and his dedicated facebook page that not only included non-stop information on the goings-on but if required with some editorial content as he brought any and all news and events to the forefront. He took the pictures, he wrote so many complimentary stories and time and time again he contributed just that - time, his time -to all sorts of events and functions.

(Speaking of legendary Osgoode families, I got a great pic Sunday with Phil and Sean Blanchfield and Mick Thompson, son of Vince - who's band were the entertainment on Sunday- all locals and - ironically- all of us alumnus of St. Leonard's Elementary as was Vince and all of his siblings and Mick's children who are there now! Gotta love it! )

I will say about Rob, I will miss our regular correspondence usually over hockey related stories but on many occasions about the Osgoode Ward, specifically the village of Osgoode. I'm transplanted myself. I came to the area at the age of seven. He came much later in life and contributed ten life times worth of time and effort into bettering where he and his family lived. God bless Rob...may you ( and Bob) rest in peace.

Also a shout out to the Canadian Propane Association who hired me a week ago to emcee their awards and achievements dinner at the Marriott Hotel. What a night we had. The picture of me on the podium taken by Sarah from Ishootevents.ca is one of the best I've ever seen of me - I thank her very much for that and to Chris Crawford for booking me and Ian Mendes for recommending me.

I did a little camping ( glamping lol) in Morrisburg with Wendy and some family and friends of hers this past weekend. Chris Laflamme and I have birthdays close together so we shared the cake. Cheers pal! And thank you Wendy for the cake.

And lastly....yes, I have a birthday coming up ( Wednesday) one of those milestone celebrations - so they say lol. I will of course be at our fabulous Men's League at Rideau View Golf Club - I will say definitively right now I will not be driving home but I will be out there trying to match the 79 I shot last week and I'll be playing with Rock Villeneuve, one of my oldest and dearest friends who I met first day of grade 2, September 7, 1966 at St. Leonard's Elementary in Manotick.....yep, you read the year right.

I'm in the process of setting up a public night at the Mill Restaurant in Manotick where my son Rory works for this Saturday ( May 25) where myself and Wendy will be for dinner at 6pm. Once I get a few more details finalized - if you'd like to join us for dinner at 6pm let me know otherwise the plan hopefully is to have any who would like to share a pint with me to drop in at 8pm and have a drink. For my east end friends and regulars at Liam Maguire's I will set up a night there to see all you great people. Otherwise, if you're around Saturday, drop by the Mill. More on that later. Gidday!