One year and one day on from his death, Bob MacLeod was remembered at a packed Raglan town hall on Monday as a “volunteer on steroids” – a community-minded man who simply rolled up his sleeves and got things done.
The celebration of Bob’s life, delayed because he died during the Covid lockdown, heard how he tirelessly served the community for nigh on 20 years through organisations ranging from the local Lions club and fire brigade to the community board, the community house, civil defence and the Raglan Residents & Ratepayers Association.
Those at the memorial service were also reminded how Bob, who took great pride in his Scottish heritage, would don his kilt to lead the Raglan Pipe Band up and down Bow St in the town’s annual New Year’s Eve or Anzac Day parades.
“His legacy was in his actions not just his words,” Raglan ward councillor Lisa Thomson recalled, describing Bob as a “volunteer on steroids”.
Bob also had a great sense of merriment, she said. While he was very passionate and committed to getting strong local governance – at various times he was chair and deputy chair of the Raglan Community Board, for instance – Bob was always up for a laugh.
He was wonderful to work with, Lisa added, recalling how he’d mentored her when she became the local councillor. “Today is an opportunity to pay tribute to Bob’s life and acknowledge his contribution to this place he loved dearly.”
Lions district governor Andrew Malloch described Bob as a “true Lion”. He had his community at heart, with numerous projects and fundraisers always on the go. He took conservation very seriously and “blitzed the target” in a Lions International tree-planting initiative, earning the local chapter an environmental award.
Bob knew practically everything when it came to protocol and processes, added local Lioness Wendy Coxhead. She rated Bob’s nine years as president as the club’s “best ever” period. He lived and breathed Lions, she said, doing much to lift its profile locally.
Former volunteer fire brigade chief Kevin Holmes told the service that Bob selflessly did much more than his fair share for the benefit of others. After having started out way back in the ’60s with the Hamilton auxiliary brigade, Bob joined the local brigade on his return to Raglan in the early 2000s, following in the footsteps of his father who was chief fire officer here in the ’80s.
As well as fighting innumerable fires during the past two decades Bob served as part of Raglan Community Patrol, Kevin recounted, painting a light-hearted picture of Bob turning up in the patrol van “all lights and sirens”. But Bob did years of work in the background too, Kevin added, donning hi-vis gear for more humdrum tasks like manning lollipop signs or dispersing road cones used in traffic management.
Bob’s wife of 20-odd years, Genny, said he believed he lived in “paradise” back in Raglan. Once retired from a successful career as a telecommunications engineer in Wellington and overseas, he put all his energy and skills into simply doing good around town whether it was planting trees, painting fire hydrant covers yellow or building seats in parks.
Along the way Bob was honoured with Volunteering Waikato’s 2013 award for volunteer of the year.
Bob – who died aged 71 – was described by Genny as a husband, father, “poppa” and friend. He was also lauded for a great sense of humour, an ability to bring people and organisations together and for an unerring dedication to his hometown.
The service closed to the strains of ‘Amazing Grace’ by friend and fellow piper Deirdre Bourne, who led the way out of the town hall past a guard of honour by local firefighters.
