Husband, father, grandfather, brother-in-law,
teacher, camp director,
nonconformist.
Born July 12, 1943, in Peterborough , Ont.
Died December 6, 2004, of cancer, in London , Ont., aged 61.
It was those red socks.
People are remembered for so many things. Bob Shimer will be remembered for the bright red socks that he always wore. I sincerely doubt that he even owned a pair that was white or black or brown.
Whether you were one of the hundreds of students he taught in his career as an elementary school teacher, counselor, and vice-principal, or a camper at Huron Church Camp where he volunteered for nearly thirty years, or part of the legion of friends and family members who are better for knowing him, you'll always think about red socks whenever you think of Bob.
Bob had a sense of style - if you can call it that. The compulsory red socks, together with corduroy pants, a red plaid shirt, and reading glasses perched well down his nose could be anything from gardening clothes to formal wear in Bob's mind. That image of him was so strong, that the students of the last school he taught in before retiring held a Dress Like Bob Shimer Day, on his final day. Picture dozens upon dozens of students ranging from kindergarten age to adolescents, all dressed in red socks, red plaid shirts, corduroy pants, and wearing fake reading glasses they had made from pipe cleaners.
I met Bob forty years ago, when I was eleven years old. My sister brought him home. The sight of a sister with a tall thin boyfriend might have led me to find a way to torment them, but Bob was clearly different. I wanted my sister to stay with this guy, mainly because he drove a powder blue 1963 MG-B convertible.
And Lois did stay with him. They were married for nearly thirty-seven years. They raised two children, a daughter Jill, and a son Ben. He was Poppa to Jill's sons Dylan, Isaac, and Levi.
Just a few weeks before Ben's wedding in 2003, doctors removed two-thirds of one of Bob's lungs. Bob had been a heavy smoker, although in later years he switched addictions to nicotine gum, and chewed it with nearly the same regularity as he used to smoke cigarettes. My brother, Jim, quipped that it wasn't really a tumor; it was just a large wad of nicotine gum that had accumulated inside him.
Within weeks of the surgery he was back at Huron Church Camp. He had been the camp director for many years, volunteering his time and his talents to it. It didn't matter whether it was dealing with the finances or dealing with a plugged toilet, Bob was there to make sure the place stayed afloat (or not afloat depending on how badly the plugged toilets got.)
Bob's only prejudice was against people who were prejudiced. Color, religion, sexual orientation, or finances did not come into Bob's willingness to help wherever he could. In that vein, he was instrumental in the founding of Camp Wendake , a week-long program held at Huron Church Camp for people living with HIV/AIDS.
In the last few weeks of his life, Bob was prescribed a medication that was not paid for by provincial or other health plans. It was a radical attempt to slow the growth of the cancer that had returned to his lungs early in 2004. That drug cost nearly five-thousand dollars each month, quickly tapping the resources of a teacher's pension.
His friends and family established a trust fund to help Bob and Lois deal with that expense. It's a tribute to Bob that it quickly grew into the five figures. One very special fundraising event was sponsored by the London gay community, many of whom had met Bob through Camp Wendake . On November 28, just a couple of days before he entered hospital for the last time, The Red Sock Walk wound its way through London, and past Bob's apartment so that he could see them in his rapidly declining health.
Bob was unconventional to the end. He wanted a plain unfinished wooden casket and asked that those in attendance at his wake (several hundred of them) be given markers to write final notes to him on the casket before it was taken to the crematorium.
I probably don't need to tell you how he was dressed.
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