Bob Saunders

Bob Saunders died peacefully on 2 October 2026 at his home in Colwood, aged 91, surrounded by his wife, children and grandchildren. His son Dave said he had had heart problems since 2020 and had survived two major operations, including quintuple bypass open heart surgery. During each crisis, his son said, he would tell the family not to worry but to take care of their mother, the family and the community.

His death was reported by the Times Colonist on 7 October, by CHEK News, and later by Black Press papers including the Goldstream News Gazette on 20 October 2026. Colwood mayor Doug Kobayashi described him as a pillar of the community and a dear friend.

A celebration of life was set for 11 am on Thursday 29 October 2026 at Eagle Ridge Centre in Langford, with a private family interment to follow. The family invited mourners to wear their favourite sports jersey and asked for donations to a charity of the giver's choice in place of flowers.

Robert Warren Saunders was born on 21 August 1935 in Duncan, British Columbia, to Stephen and Olive Saunders, and was raised on Holmes Street in the town. He went to school in Duncan, played and coached basketball and hockey, and became a passionate fisherman and hunter on the Cowichan River and Cowichan Bay, skills that later helped feed his own family.

The family business was cars. In his younger days he worked beside his father and relatives at Central Service in Duncan, and according to his family and the Times Colonist the Saunders family helped operate the first Hillman dealership in Canada. He grew up with a strong sense of community service that his family said came from his parents.

After marrying Norma Whitehead in 1956, Saunders moved to Victoria, where the couple started Freeway Service. Over the following years he took whatever work would support the family, as a welder and pipefitter on ships, in remote mines and in mills, jobs that often kept him away from home. CHEK News reported that he eventually returned to the automotive trade so that he could spend more time with his family.

In the 1970s he sold cars at National Motors and then opened his own used car lot on the Old Island Highway in Colwood. In 1978 he and Norma founded Saunders Subaru, which grew into an award winning family business. Norma and their children Edie, Ruth and Dave worked alongside him, along with grandson Luke, and many of the grandchildren learned their work ethic at the dealership. Saunders retired in 2016, turning the business over to Jimmy Pattison on his 81st birthday.

His family said he was happiest helping people buy a car. His honours from the industry included the Canadian Automotive Laureate Award and a Business of the Year Award.

Saunders married Norma Whitehead in 1956, and they were together for more than 70 years. They raised five children, Helen, Stephen, Edie, Ruth and David, in the Colwood family home, and had 11 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren. His youngest son, Dave Saunders, is a former mayor of Colwood.

He became a Freemason in 1985 and was an active member of the Gizeh Temple Shrine for many years. He kept fishing all his life, and his family said he went out on the water on his 91st birthday in August 2026, chatting with everyone he met.

Saunders is remembered on the West Shore as much for his philanthropy as for his dealership. The lacrosse box and clubhouse he helped build at Centennial Park in Langford in the 1970s were among the first of many community projects he backed, from youth sports teams and school programmes to the arts, food banks and hospice care. Through the Saunders Family Foundation, the Comfy Kids programme provides families with a vehicle for trips to BC Children's Hospital, and the Healthy WestShore platform, inspired in part by the care he received, helps local communities attract and keep health care workers.

His honours included the King Charles III Coronation Medal, the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada, the Royal Roads University Chancellor's Community Recognition Award in 2010, West Shore Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year, the CNIB Volunteer Recognition Award and the Masonic Medal of Merit.