Roy Clarence Hedberg, age 84, of Vancouver, BC, passed away peacefully with family on Sept. 20, 2022, in the Palliative Care Unit at St. Paul’s Hospital, after a courageous battle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
Roy was born on March 9, 1938, in Edmonton, Alberta to his parents Una and Ejnar Hedberg and later grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba. After a tough upbringing and needing some money, he dropped out of high school to work on the railway. He later joined the Canadian Air Force and was stationed in Greenwood, Nova Scotia, and St. Hubert, Québec, where he completed his high school and met his sweetheart Judy Duff. After he was discharged from the Air Force, he enrolled at Sir Georges Williams College in Montreal before transferring to the Electrical Engineering program at McGill University in 1963.
Judy and Roy were married on Sept. 19, 1964, in Montreal. After graduating with distinction at McGill in 1967, Roy joined IBM where he advanced his career for 16 years. While living and working in Montreal, their sons Steve and Mike were born in 1968 and 1969. The family moved to Ottawa, back to Montreal, then Toronto, before their next opportunity with IBM in 1978 took them out west to Vancouver where Roy and Judy stayed and lived in the same house for the next 44 years.
Upon arriving in Vancouver, Roy helped IBM with the sales & marketing of the Personal Computer (PC) in Western Canada. After leaving IBM he went on to own and run multiple Computer Land franchises in 1982, and then started his own management consulting firm, BSG Systems Ltd. in 1986. Through BSG, Roy was actively involved helping his clients for over 30 years, including setting up a business management system for his son Mike’s growing consulting business.
Roy had an unrelenting work ethic that rubbed off on his sons and those around him. To the astonishment of his Shaughnessy neighbours, in the summer of 1982, he put a new cedar shake roof on the house during evenings and weekends, with only the help of his brother-in-law, Scott Duff, and his boys. As a dad, Roy served as a great role model for Steve and Mike, supporting them in their adventures of wild spaces, and empowering them with the confidence to tackle life’s biggest challenges.
Roy made time to volunteer at Canuck Place Children’s Hospice for 25 years where he took great joy in fixing the computers, so the kids and families had access to them during their stays. He was also very generous with his time while mentoring his sons, in addition to many others, old and young, that would regularly seek his council.
Roy and Judy loved to travel, and they had many memorable camping trips with the family throughout Canada and the USA, in addition to trips to Mexico, the Caribbean, UK, Europe, Scandinavia, Central & South America, and Asia. Roy also loved his family time in Whistler where he and Judy spent winter weekends and Christmas holidays for more than 25 years. “Papa” was actively involved with the fast-paced lives of his four grandchildren, who always put a smile on his face and brought out his softer side, which we grew to love.
Roy is survived by his wife, Judy Hedberg (Duff), his two sons Steve and Mike Hedberg, their spouses Lauren Anonby and Heather Hedberg (Friesen), his four grandchildren Emelia, Grace, Matthew, and Alison, plus many extended family members and close friends.
The family wishes to thank the skilled and compassionate Hematology and Palliative Care teams at St. Paul’s Hospital for managing Roy’s treatment and making his final days comfortable and peaceful.
A “Celebration of Life” will be held in October; please reach out to the family for details.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Canuck Place Children’s Hospice or the Canadian Cancer Society.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.vancouvercrematorium.com for the HEDBERG family.
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