Richard "Rick" Grant Munro

With a heavy heart, we announce the passing of Richard Grant (Rick) Munro, a great loss not only for his surviving family, Henry and Randy Munro and his partner of many years, Iris Lott. His passing will also be felt throughout the world of finance, the world of music, and most of all our community to which he was a valuable contributor. Though his life was a long and fascinating one, it was not anywhere near long enough.

Rick was born in Toronto in 1935 to Meta Munro, who raised 3 boys single handed and he often said she was the best and most important person in his life. He began school in Trois Rivieres in 1942, soon moving on to Willabroad School in Verdun, Quebec, and he actually stood on Verdun Boulevard when peace was declared and World War 2 ended in 1945! Shortly after, he moved onto Bedford QC for grades 4-5, Ahuntsic Public School for grades 6-7, The High School of Montreal (HSM) for grades 8-11, and finally finished grade 12 at Ross High in 1959.

Rick's time in public school was dominated by his love of music, in which he was greatly gifted and for which he carried a lifelong passion, sparked and encouraged by his family. Among the many things he was given by his mother was an old Stella guitar, a fantastic treasure for a young man. Though still in public school, he devoted most of his free time to practicing his chords and listening to, and indulging in his love of music. Quickly he was playing along to Hank Snow, Chet Atkins, Louis Bonfa and many of the other greats of the time, and even joined a group of seven like minded musicians, making regular appearances to play in his church basement and on market days.

His passion and skill only grew throughout high school, happily playing with all comers. Along with his friend and partner Tom Kilbride he was invited to play with the Lions Boys Club Variety Review. He soon graduated onto Tom Blythe's Blue Sky Review, travelling frequently between military bases as well as performing elsewhere, while still being enrolled in school.

In 1953, a musical duo consisting of Slim (Bob Davis) and Curly (Norman Robertson) decided that Rick's guitar would be a fantastic addition to their playing. They were right, and Rick soon left high school and his job at Crane LTD. to join them in playing regularly at bars and social clubs, not letting his age or their age restrictions hold him back. Indeed, the group, now known as the "Rhythm Jesters" became the "toast of the town", with long lines of fans coming to see the young musicians and frequent radio, TV and concert appearances which generated a real income - university would wait!

His star continued to rise, along with that of the Rhythm Jesters. and he was soon recruited to New York City by George Goldner, and invited to record in the Bell Sound Studios, an extremely prestigious opportunity! The groups first single, "Rock to the Music" garnered enough attention to land them spots on national television. His was also the first white group given the honour of closing the show at the Apollo Theater. The Jesters were even invited to join the Alan Ford tour and to go with the great Frank Sinatra on his Australia tour, though in the end they conducted the tour without him.

Unfortunately, the next recordings sold poorly, and consequently George Goldner and Paul Kalet booked them on a tour across America. Though extremely skilled, they had great difficulty sustaining the tour night after night, and it met with less financial success than they had seen earlier. As such, the young men decided to investigate other passions, with Curly joining the American Air Force, Slim set out as a solo act, and Rick finishing at Ross High School. This did nothing to dampen Rick's enthusiasm for music, and he continued to play professionally throughout university, until finally forbidden by Price Waterhouse, whom he joined in 1964.

Fortunately, Rick's gifts extended into the academic. After he refinished high school he was granted a Bachelor of Commerce degree by Concordia University in 1963, and attended McGill University until 1967 where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant while employed by Price Waterhouse; first as a student and quickly recognized as a senior auditor. He continued to work in finance, moving to Atlantic Sugar Ltd. in 1968 as Treasurer. He then moved up in 1973 to become the VP of Finance of Canadian International Power. In 1978 he became the Treasurer of Dominion Textile LTD, and then moved on to the Morgan Trust Company in 1982. Rick considers his major achievement in finance to be "taking Morgan Trust private" in 1983 where he was VP of Finance and Administration, and overseeing the largest corporate liquidation, of Canadian International Power (CI Power), in 1977. In 1985 he found his dream job with Greenwich Associates, where he stayed until 2000.

Rick would often refer with pride to the fact that he outlasted all these companies, participating in the liquidation of each company that employed him.

He also reflected on the good times he had in these companies, and often referred to his job at Greenwich as "a professional's dream come true". Along the way a few wonderful mentors and friends were much appreciated. Prof. J.G. Finney at Concordia University, Bill Patton at Atlantic Sugar Ltd, Bill Bradford at the Bank of Montreal and Steve Jarislowski, a true genius. The mark these great men left on his life cannot be overstated, nor can there ever be thanks enough for their teaching and friendship.

After ending his time at Greenwich, he certainly did not become idle. He had always been athletic, holding 100 meter and broad jump provincial records in his youth and training with the junior Olympic ski squad in St. Sauveur. He had a great love of skiing and sailing, doing so for almost 75 years. Later in his life, he developed a greater joy in taking his beloved sailboat "Boomerang" out at every opportunity. Through all these activities he developed many treasured friendships, and he thanks all these friends left behind, and those that have gone before.

He also used his boundless energy in retirement to contribute endless hours to the Comox Valley Community. He employed his skill in skiing in volunteering for 15 years for Mt. Washington's Vancouver Island Society for Adaptive Snow sports, selflessly helping others to enjoy the skis and snow that he loved so much. He also turned his skill in music and stage to conducting over 300 interviews for local television, making a huge impression on the valley with his wonderful voice, and making many more great friends in the process.

He spent much of his time travelling the world, which brought him great joy.

He was extremely well travelled, beginning with his tours of Australia and America as a young musician. Then, when he joined the work force, he was sent to many of the financial centers in the world, seeing much of Europe, South and Central America. He continued travelling in his retirement, seeing every state in the union as well as the Holy Land, Russia, China, Tibet, the Caribbean, Cape Horn, Antarctica, and the Panama Canal. He was always overjoyed to return to either of his two homes: the Montreal he grew up in and the Comox Valley that he so loved.

Rick passed away in the Comox Valley to which he contributed so much, and will be very much missed both there and by his friends around the world. With his energy, intelligence, skill and glowing sense of humour, he improved the lives of everyone around him, Rick will certainly not be forgotten by anyone who had the privilege of meeting him.