Family and friends in Canada and the U.S. are mourning the loss of a former City of Nanaimo environmental planner who died while cycling in the annual Ski to Sea multi-sport relay race near Bellingham.
Rob Lawrance, 58, was in good spirits on the May 29 race day, said friend and teammate Amir Freund of Nanaimo, with whom Lawrance had taken part in the race a number of times.
But this time, Lawrance failed to show up at the end of a 13-mile cycling leg. His wife, Becky, aunt Dawn Groves and other family and friends who had been waiting learned that he had suffered a medical emergency while riding.
“As far as we can determine, he was making good time on the trail when he suddenly crashed,” said Groves, who was also a teammate. Spectators at the scene rushed to help until emergency personnel arrived.
It’s believed that Lawrance suffered from a “massive coronary event,” Groves said. Freund, who was speaking for the family on Monday, said additional tests are being carried out.
Lawrance, who is also survived by adult daughter Ceilidh of Vancouver Island, had worked for the City of Nanaimo as an environmental planner for 21 years. It was while taking part in the canoe portion of a Ski to Sea race more than a decade ago that he met Becky.
They married and commuted between Nanaimo and Blaine until Lawrance received a Green Card. He retired from his Nanaimo job and moved to Blaine to be with Becky in 2021. Three weeks ago, he started work with the City of Bellingham on an aquatic invasive species program.
“Becky and Rob couldn’t have been any happier. Rob loved being outdoors,” said Groves, who set up a gofundme account to help Becky with funeral arrangements and a service. As of Monday afternoon, it had raised close to $12,000.
Freund said a celebration of life has been planned by Lawrance’s friends for Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Woodstream Park in Nanaimo, 1555 Bay St. Tents will set up in case of rain and he suggests bringing a chair.
Lawrance had been instrumental in seeing that park established, Freund said.
A tree will be planted in honour of Lawrance and a carved bench will be installed near the stream by Departure Bay spray park. That was something he had planned to do and his friends will fulfill his wish, Freund said.
Freund, a transportation planner with Nanaimo, met Lawrence after joining the city staff in 2011, when they were both part of Bike to Work week. They shared an interest in activities such as hiking, volleyball and cycling.
He said Lawrance was devoted to supporting Earth Day, fighting invasive species and more.
Freund describes him as cheerful, humble, helpful and supportive to others. The night before the race, Lawrance had packed Freund’s bike in the car so the task did not have to be done in the early morning. Freund had to rise to 4 a.m. to participate in the first cycling portion of the race.
“He would think about other people. He didn’t think about himself.”
aduffy@timescolonist.com
cjwilson@timescolonist.com
