STOUGHTON - Bob O’Connor was raised in a Canadian Navy family, as his father was a coastal protection photographer and his mother took photos of ships that were damaged and needed repairs.
Raised near Ottawa, he remained there until he was of age to join the Canadian Navy and go to boot camp at Canadian Forces Base Cornwallis, N.S., on May 18, 1973.
RoseAnna, the woman who is now his wife, was raised in Redvers and she arrived at Cornwallis on June 2, 1973, when she joined the Navy. At this time, they had not yet met.
Bob remembers the day well when she arrived with several other women. The sailors had lined up along the side and watched as these lovely women, dressed in civilian clothes, entered the building.
As each one passed Bob, his eyes stopped on RoseAnna, and he told himself he would marry her one day.
He attended bootcamp for 13 weeks and she did 11 weeks, and during this time they began to fall in love. On Aug. 10, 1974, a year after they met, he married the woman he said he would. They received a two-week navy leave for their honeymoon.
Bob is a marine engineer technician. He was responsible for the mechanics and the ship he was on running well.
RoseAnna was an ocean graphic research operator, but they could not give details on her job.
The couple was stationed together for the next six months and then they received separate assignments.
Serving during the Cold War, they needed to protect the waters from intruders.
Bob received his fourth-class power engineer and industrial mechanic. He worked on the HMCS Margaree, the Fraser and, on the west coast, the Restigouche. He furthered his credentials by becoming a refrigeration engineer.
They remained in the navy for seven years with their children being born in different provinces across Canada. Sean was born in Victoria, B.C., Kathleen in Handsworth and Heather in Fort Erie, Ont.
Three times Bob set sail with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for a three-month tour, keeping tabs on Russia during the mid-1970s.
Once they left the navy, they moved around several times.
They went from Weyburn to London, Ont., then to Orilla, Ont., and back to Weyburn, but would settle in Stoughton.
For 18 years he worked for St. Joseph’s Hospital in Estevan, while RoseAnna took care of the children until they were adults.
They travelled and saw the world, going to Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Germany and the Netherlands, to name a few.
A stroke on Dec. 29, 2016, slowed Bob down some, but now that he is feeling better, he plans to travel to Sydney, Australia, to visit his brother in February 2024.
They will travel from Sydney to Perth and back.
“It is an opportunity I do not want to miss, because life is short,” he said.
