Eight years apart; Eleven months together.

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Hi, I'm Dawn Groves. You may have read about my nephew and teammate, Rob Lawrance, who died of a massive coronary event during the cyclocross portion of the Ski to Sea Race on Sunday. Together with his wife, Becky, and my two children, we waited for him to handoff to me at the start of the kayak leg of the race. Because he was late coming in -- or so we thought -- I went ahead and launched. Becky learned of his death from a police officer as she stood outside the Zuanich Park Meeting facility. I didn't know until after ringing the bell in Marine Park.

 

BACKGROUND:

 

Rob and Becky met over ten years ago as Ski to Sea canoeists. They fell in love and eventually married -- Becky's first marriage and Rob's second. It wasn’t easy. Becky lives in Blaine where she teaches third grade; Rob was a beloved environmental city planner for the City of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. They spent the majority of their marriage commuting between locations, all the while churning through mountains of red tape to allow Rob permanent residence in the USA. Rob's daughter, Ceilidh, also on Vancouver Island, visited Blaine whenever she could. COVID complicated everything.

 

Finally in 2021, Rob was granted a permanent green card. He retired from public service in Nanaimo and moved in with Becky. It was cause for great celebration. He loved Blaine and took regular walks into town, visiting with locals and becoming a treasured part of the community. He was also the beating heart of our Pacific Northwest family, infusing his joyous energy into everything we did. His recent physical came back great. He was fit, active, and at age 58, filled with plans for the future. Three weeks ago, he took a position working for the Aquatic Invasive Species Program with the City of Bellingham. Becky and Rob couldn't have been any happier. Rob loved being outdoors.

 

RACE DAY:

 

Race day started beautifully with all team members in constant text contact. Rob took a silly picture to send out as a joke.

As far as we can determine, he was making good time on the trail when he suddenly crashed. Spectators ran to assist, two of them nurses, and began immediate CPR. The paramedics took over when they arrived, continuing heroic measures until it became clear that he was gone. We don't believe Rob suffered prior to his collapse because he was doing so well. He was probably smiling, looking forward to seeing Becky and handing off to me. We haven't yet received an official document from the Medical Examiner.

 

REQUEST:

 

To describe this loss as sudden and tragic can't begin to encompass the depth of the experience. Becky is left alone and, to make matters worse, must now fend for herself in a single-income household.

 

We ask friends and sympathizers to help our Becky cover the costs associated with Rob's funeral arrangements and an end-of-life service. Her task ahead is almost incomprehensible. We don't want to add debt to her burden.

 

Any amount is appreciated. Even $1. We set the amount at 5K but more is surely helpful.  I'm certain that Rob would join me in heartfelt thanks for helping the love of his life move forward from this dark time.

 

Sincere appreciation to everyone who reads this.