ROBERT ARNOLD MCLEOD

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ROBERT ARNOLD MCLEOD

February 24, 1936 - July 27, 2026

After complications from Parkinson’s, Bob passed away peacefully on July 27, 2026, at Kin Place Personal Care Home in Oakbank at the age of 90 with family by his side. Bob was predeceased by his parents, Fred and Ella, his brother Jim (Flo) and sister Una (Clifford) Sterling.

Bob will be dearly missed by his wife Beth and her children, Tannis (John) Handford, Travis Simonson, and granddaughters, Ariel, Kaiya, Talia, Nahanni and Morea along with many nieces, nephews and friends.

Bob was born at home in Milner Ridge where his Dad was stationed with the CPR. His family moved to the town of Oakbank when Bob was nine and is where he spent the rest of his life. While growing up in Oakbank, Bob made a number of lifelong friends. One of these friends was Ron Grapentine. Along with John Sellen, Bob and Ron formed the aptly named “Springfielders” band. They played together at many Personal Care Homes and house parties with a breakout performance at Beth and Bob’s wedding reception. Bob and Ron were also Boy Scout leaders having many expeditions taking the troop canoeing and camping with a very special journey to the Montreal Expo in 1967.

After graduating from the University of Winnipeg, Bob worked with the Department of Forestry eventually moving on to the Canadian Grain Commission as a Lab Technician where he worked his way up to Scale Inspector, traveling to all the Ports in Canada and internationally to China.

If you were to select the perfect title for a movie about Bob’s life, the John Hughes directed Planes, Trains and Automobiles would have been a good choice for top of the list. The love of trains was fostered very early in life while growing up in the CPR section house in Oakbank and continued over the years with many cross-country train journeys throughout North America. In 1957 Bob obtained his pilots license, eventually buying his own plane and flying for over 50 years. Bob’s sense of humour and adventure were on full display during the many flights he took guests up for when a cleverly planned mid air engine stall really got his passengers hearts racing. A regular day for Bob included going down to the airport on Oakwood Road for a solo flight and then buzzing the condo with a flyover and wing wave to signal to Beth it was time for her to come down to the airport and accompany him for a Fly-in breakfast at one of the many airports in Manitoba. Bob also had a great passion for his cars and it was with Swiss like precision that every four years he meticulously began an extensive research gathering initiative to pick out his next new ride. Over the years he acquired many different vehicles with his Chevy Malibu being one of his favourites. Bob’s adventurous nature was featured again when in his 20’s he daringly bought himself a jeep and travelled up the new 2,700 km Alaskan highway.

After many years of bachelor life and after many times being each other’s plus one for various social occasions, Beth and Bob finally married in 1998. Bob now had a partner to join him on his much-loved travelling escapades and to enjoy his exemplary cooking skills. Together they travelled across Canada and the US by train and by car. There were holidays and family reunion trips to a variety of locations and cruising was introduced as a transportation mode as well. A highlight was their bus tour trip to England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

Outside of travelling and family, Bob had a number of other pursuits to keep him busy in retirement life. He sang in the United Church Choir for many years. He also spent a number of years serving on the Credit Union Board of Directors. After retiring, Bob took up curling with the senior league and Friday Night Mixed and was also a Marshall at the Selkirk Golf Club.

Throughout his life, Bob consistently exhibited a mischievous fun-loving quality in times of celebration, a quiet contemplative patience in times of adversity and a never-ending kindness and goodwill for all the times in between. Because of these qualities, he will forever be missed.

The family wishes to thank the many health care workers, doctors, nurses and all the staff at Kin Place for their dedicated care over the five years Bob was there. Cremation has taken place and a service will be held at 1:00 pm, Monday, August 10, 2026 at the Oakbank United Church, 582 Balsam Crescent, Oakbank, MB. A private family interment at Sunnyside Cemetery will follow after the lunch. In lieu of flowers, if friends desire, donations may be made to Kin Place Personal Care Home, Oakbank United Church or Dugald Place Assisted Living.

Tribute Link: seasonsfunerals.ca

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Aug 08, 2026