Obituary of Roy Alastair Rickard
Rickard, Roy Alastair
On December 28th, 2021 at St. Mary’s Hospital, Kitchener. Survived by his wife, partner, and best friend Patricia Rickard (née Lloyd) of Elmira and son Andrew Rickard (Kimberly) of Montreal, Quebec. Also survived by sisters-in-law Jean Lundy (Bing) and Joyce Osborne (Chuck), brothers-in-law Bruce Lloyd (Sharon) and Brian Lloyd, and by many nieces and nephews. He will be greatly missed by all.
Predeceased by his parents the Rev. Roy and Helen Rickard (née Clarke) of Belleville, and his sister Patricia Prest (Glenn) of Margaretsville, Nova Scotia.
Al earned three university degrees in history before entering the life insurance industry in the early 1970s. For several years he was the head of the Estate and Financial Planning Service at Mutual Life of Canada, later rebranded as Clarica. After the company was taken over by Sun Life, he became Assistant Vice President of Government and Industry Relations. He also served as chairman of the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association's standing Committee on Distribution and Intermediaries for 16 years. In 2007 he received FP Canada’s Donald J. Johnston Award in recognition of his contribution to the financial planning profession. Separate from his regular employment, Al founded the Canadian Journal of Life Insurance, a magazine that accepted no advertising and focused on issues that other trade publications mostly chose to avoid. Al became very knowledgeable about the life insurance business and his opinions and suggestions were sought out by industry leaders in both Canada and the United States.
After he retired in 2009, Al continued to share his thoughts on his blog, where many readers discovered books and authors as a result of his excellent reviews. He will be remembered for his sharp mind, dry sense of humour, and occasional recalcitrance.
At Al’s request, there will be no visitation; the family will gather privately at a later date.
Special thanks to the wonderful nurses and doctors on the third floor who cared for Al with such kindness and compassion. Donations in his memory may be made to the St. Mary's Regional Cardiac Care Centre.
Donations:
To donate direct, please send cheques or donate online to the charity of your choice. Call us at the funeral home, 519-669-2207 and we will place a card to the family (as always, we still accept cash or cheque at the funeral home)
St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation (St. Mary's Regional Cardiac Care Centre)
911 Queen's Boulevard
Kitchener, Ontario Canada N2M 1B2
Telephone: (519) 749-6797
www.supportstmarys.ca
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