Wherever a beautiful soul has been, there is a trail of memories. That quote defined how we dealt with the tragic news of the loss of our friend, Rob Greensides, fondly referred to as Greener.
We have a class of ‘82 Facebook page and when news of his April 23 accident broke, we stayed connected through this venue, holding on to hope that we could be the 13th man he needed to pull out of his dire circumstances. It was not to be.
I heard the whole town of Assiniboia was a tearful place April 25 when news spread that Rob had succumbed to his injuries. Whether he knew it or not, the man made a huge impact on his family, his friends and an entire community.
When his family moved to Assiniboia it didn’t take long for Rob to make friends, many of those friendships were part of his life until his untimely passing. Those life-long friendships, community respect and admiration came from who he was, not just what he did, or his prized yellow corvette he drove.
He was the kind of friend that stood by you no matter what. He was that kind of friend to the community of Assiniboia too. He lived the motto, “Community service is the price you pay for the space you occupy."
After graduation, when many of his class of ’82 mates moved away, he was beyond excited about any opportunity to reunite. We have a remarkable class who have stood the test of time and have held formal and informal reunions at least seven times, of which Rob was a planner as well as being a full-on participant. Sadly, it would have been our 40th reunion this year and he was so looking forward to the opportunity to gather with old friends once again, but that reunion will happen under far different circumstances.
He had a large circle of friends and no one person was deemed more important than the other. The customer base he had cited the same things about him. He was genuine to the core and we are sure going to miss that big personality in our lives, whether it was a daily, weekly or occasional encounter.
Social media became flooded with condolences to his family or memory sharing. I thought instantly of a song or two that spoke to the heart and shared them on my Facebook page, remembering Rob. Cody Johnson sings the poignant words “Take that phone call, just talk away, ‘cause you’ll never know how bad you wanna, ‘til you can’t.” Rob embraced the decree of “Carpe diem”, every day. I have always been thankful a high school teacher taught us those words.
What will we remember about Rob? His zest for life, his daily enthusiasm, his infectious yet mischievous smile, his commitment to his family, friends and always to his community. He was kind, he was sincere and his general belief that everyone means well and there was good in everybody. And no one will ever forget him belting out “Sweet Caroline” if it came on the radio or was played at a dance. Any future reunions or events in Assiniboia will never be the same without his vibrant enthusiasm and mischief and full-on participation in whatever was presented.
An earlier presentation to another dedicated community soul in Unity was led off with these words, “The world is full of dreamers and not enough doers. We were lucky to have both.” This statement fully reflects Rob. Many wonderful events or things undertaken in Assiniboia are a result of his commitment to them. He was a continual good friend to my home community, evidenced by all the positive posts about his efforts.
Rob’s passing was sudden but his life was not faint. He has created so many memories and a legacy in Assiniboia that will live on for many lifetimes to come. No one will forget his smile, his laugh, his genuine interest in how you were and how things had been in your life. We will miss this brother, husband, nephew, uncle and friend dearly and we are eternally grateful for having known him. One of the hardest parts of accepting this is he is not here to hold our hands and help get us through the hurt, as he has done on occasions past.
None of us can fathom what life will look like without him in it as we’ve never had to live in a world without him. Yet we all know, he would tell us to remember him with a toast, sharing some good memories and to move on with our lives.
In Rob’s life he was a showcase of the best example of all that life had to offer. Fun with family and friends, demonstrating his passion about his favorite cars and sports, and devoted to the community he grew up and lived in. He epitomized the phrase, “If you are looking for a hand up, make sure to look in your own two sleeves first.” He led by example not administering advice.
I couldn’t find any better words to describe how we will mark your life, Rob, so I will summarize from Luke’s song, “So long my friend, until we meet again. I'll remember you, and all the times that we used to. I’m gonna sit right here, watch the sunset disappear and drink a beer.”
