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A Royal Canadian Navy Historical Project
In memory of those who have Crossed the Bar
VODREY, Frederick Bruce - Farewell to the Norman Lord On March 30th, 2005, Bruce passed away in the Victoria General Hospital in Victoria, BC, at the age of 83 and now joins Vicki, his wife and partner of 56 years. He will be greatly missed by his children, Mitch (Rosemary) of Winnipeg, Robert (Maureen) of Ottawa and Su (Bill Harbottle) of Sidney and his grandchildren, Drew and fiancée Monique, Chris, Matt, Caleigh and partner Keith, Cammie, Jamey and Simon. He will also be missed by his brother Jack of California and his dearest cousin Peggy Gray of Winnipeg. Bruce was born and grew up in Winnipeg. He served his country honourably in the Royal Canadian Navy, based out of Halifax. His naval career included convoy duty in the North Atlantic and serving at Naval Command in Ottawa achieving the rank of Lieutenant. Bruce took Vicki as his bride in Halifax in 1942 and settled in Kenora, ON in 1945 to operate the Norman Hotel for the next 42 years. In these years, in addition to his personal passion for photography, he freelanced for CBC TV, built a fleet of model ships, was an avid boater on Lake of the Woods, and was a keen collector of stereo music recordings. His greatest joy was welcoming and entertaining his friends new and old, earning him the title of The Norman Lord . While is was hard for them to leave their friends in Kenora, Bruce and Vicki chose to move west to Victoria and then Kelowna. After losing Vicki, Bruce settle in Sidney, BC, making yet again many new friends, including Brenda Horn at Beechwood Village. Bruce loved Vicki, his family, and friends, a good joke, the odd shot of rum and a cigar! Bruce was unique and he loved life! Funeral service will be held in the Sands Funeral Chapel, 1803 Quadra Street, Victoria, BC on Monday, April 4 at 1:00 p.m. Interment will take place at a later date in Kenora, ON at which time a memorial service will be held. Flowers gratefully declined, donations may be made to a charity of one's choice. (Winnipeg Free Press 02 Apr 2005)
Ships served in: HMCS STAR - Appointed to Star 23 Aug 1943 as a Prob. SLt, RCNVR (Navy List Oct 1943) HMCS KINGS - Appointed to Kings 04 Feb 1944 as a Probationary SLt, RCNVR (Navy List Feb 1944) HDPC D6 - Appointed to D6 - 26 Jun 1944 as a SLt, RCNVR (seniority 23 Jun 1944) (Navy List Sep 1944) * Retired list - as an A/Lt, RCN(R) (seniority 30 Oct 1948) (Navy List Jul 1949) HMCS CHIPPAWA (retired list) - as an A/Lt, RCN(R) (Navy List Jul 1952). Last listed in the Navy List for Jan 1960 as an A/Lt, RCN(R)
(1) Portrait of A/Lt F. Bruce Vodrey (2) Bruce's suitcase adorned with a copy of the gunshield art of HMCS Calgary K231
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For Posterity's Sake 
