Former Petes star Schnurr dies of cancer
Neilson brought him to Peterborough in a dramatic 1975 trade for Laurence
Bob Schnurr’s positive attitude served him well in life and hockey.
The former Peterborough Petes captain lost a 10-year battle with cancer on Thursday.
“When Bobby received a stage 4 cancer diagnosis 10 years ago, he wasn’t fazed,” states Schnurr’s daughter Jessica in his obituary. “Instead, he opened a beer bar with his daughter — one of his lifelong dreams — poured himself a cold one and said, ‘Let’s do this.’” A Kitchener native, Mr. Schnurr, 63, came to the Petes in 1975 in a trade. Dick Todd, who was an assistant coach and trainer to head coach Roger Neilson, said it was a controversial move because the Petes were giving up their best player, Red Laurence. “The trade was pretty dramatic at the time,” Todd said. “We traded Red Laurence for Bobby and a fourthround pick. Roger liked the character he had heard and knew of him as a player. Red had some issues off the ice and Roger wanted to fix it.”
Mr. Schnurr was named captain the following season under head coach Gary Young.
“Bob came in and gave it everything he had and was an integral part of the organization,” Todd said.
“He was an all-round sound individual. A smart person, dedicated and reliable. All the aspects you’d look for in a guy to be captain.”
Greg Millen was among Mr. Schnurr’s teammates in Peterborough.
“Bob was a quality person,”
Millen said.
“A great teammate. I can still see his little smirk. He had a really fine sense of humour that was always obvious within the team and the group. There was no question his leadership ability was strong.”
Mr. Schnurr married a Peterborough girl, Leslie Ogilvie, and they had two daughters Jessica and Natalie, who opened the Arabella Park pub in Kitchener with her father. That’s where his celebration of life will be held at a date to be determined.
“Bobby’s positivity, resiliency and strength was astonishing, inspiring — but not surprising,” wrote Jessica.
“He had always been that way, racking up an impressive list of accolades throughout his life: (captain of the Peterborough
Petes, inductee in Western University Men’s Hockey Wall of Honour, player in the AHL, to name a few),” she said.
“But what’s more impressive than any athletic endeavour was his character. A natural born leader, he was captain of nearly every team he played on. People gravitated toward him, which was good — because there was nothing he cherished more than bringing those he loved together over good food, good wine and good times,” she added.
The family cottage in Bayfield was his favourite hangout and where his ashes will be spread.
“The cottage was his happy place, and he will be remembered with every perfectly cooked medium-rare steak, impromptu Gypsy Kings dance party, family gathering and Bogie’s Beach sunset,” stated Jessica.
“He was making us laugh until his very last breath and we will never forget his beautiful smile, contagious laugh and his genuine, loving heart.”
He is survived by three other daughters from a second marriage; Natalie Gascho, Andrea Gascho, Rachel Schnurr and wife Sue.
The family asks friends to consider donating to the Kitchener-Waterloo Humane Society or Canadian Cancer Society, in Mr. Schnurr’s memory.
In his prime, Mr. Schnurr was a five-foot-11, 170-pound centre.
As a rookie with his hometown Rangers, he recorded 14 goals and 22 assists for 36 points in 68 games. In his first season with the Petes he had 15 goals and 30 assists for 45 points in 62 games.
In his second season with the Petes he missed some time to injury, scoring 15 goals and 25 assists for 40 points in 37 games.
The following season he played 11 games for the Kingston Canadians before enrolling at the University of Western Ontario.