Bob McCracken, age 75, of Winnipeg, MB passed away, on February 3, 2021, peacefully surrounded by family.  

 

He was born to parents, Edith & Jack McCracken on May 16, 1945 in Neepawa, MB. His early years were spent living on a farm, Bob, had bright blue eyes that would shine when he recalled how he had challenged authority back in his early days.  Bob loved the idea of being a bad-boy, about causing a ruckus, and doing what he felt at the moment…..but in his heart he was all about other people.   

 

He married Brenda, the love of his life, on April 12, 1969 in Winnipeg, MB. Bob is survived by daughters Tricia (Dan) Precourt and Heather (Clint) Unrau as well as his grandchildren Reese, Wynn and Ty.  Bob is also survived by his big brother, Gord (Donna) McCracken, big sister Norma (Gerald) Reid, brother-in-law Kris (Sherry) Profit and many nieces, nephews, and close friends.  Bob was predeceased by parents Edith and Jack McCracken. 

 

In his early years he met the love of his life, Brenda, and was eagerly welcomed into the family because he was working at Dominion Foods where he worked as a butcher.  He bought favour with Brenda’s Dad by bringing meat to his soon-to-be father-in-law while wooing a slightly younger Brenda.  The age gap was a bit of a controversy!     

 

His professional life started with Founders Finance as a loans officer,  when he was transferred to Thunder Bay where his first daughter, Tricia, was born.  After a change in his career he found another transfer to Edmonton where they setup a new life in St. Albert.  A few years after, the second of the daughters, Heather, was born.  In 1985, after one final professional transfer, the McCracken family led by Bob and Brenda found themselves in Winnipeg on Kingston Row where they raised their girls.   

 

Professionally, Bob moved on from working for others to working for himself.  By wisely starting Brandon Lube in Brandon, Bob started a business that provided very well for his family.  Along the way he met many great friends that supported him in his journey as he supported them as well.  Eventually, the time came when the land on which Brandon Lube was located was in demand by one of the big banks.   Bob recognized a great opportunity and ended up becoming the land and building developer for the bank.  Bob’s bright blue eyes would sparkly when he would jest at his success as…. He did own a bank after all, not many could make that claim! 

 

His life was blessed, by having two daughters, who will always remember the small and special memories of times that they shared.   In the early years, they would take road trips to visit family and enjoy singing along to ABBA along the way.  While Bob was focused on building his career, he would always make time to create and record all the special memories with his daughters.  Bob had a habit of deciding when it was tickle time and was very skilled at getting his girls giggling to the point they couldn’t stop.    

 

Bob was also known to be an early adopter of new electronic toys like video recorders and the best TV’s of the time.   A special purchase was one of the earliest VHS recorders that he would spend hours playing with while recording his daughters having fun on their driveway and in their home in St. Albert.    

 

Both daughters found their lifetime loves and got married to have children of their own and build their own families.  The guidance of Bob was never far away as the young families navigated through their own businesses and careers.  Bob, after a lifetime of enjoying the benefits of living in a house of females, made a strong bond with both his son-in-laws.  He enjoyed having fun, and with a couple young men at his side, and would introduce them to the finer things in life, like Scotch, giving his new son-in-laws something to remember him by forever.  Whenever we raise a single malt the memories will be recalled.    

 

Everyone, especially the grandchildren (Reese, Wynn, and Ty), all fondly remember the family trips to Florida.  Bob and Brenda would treat everybody to a vacation home with a swimming pool and set them up for memorable day trips to Disney and other amusement parks.  Back at the vacation home, Bob would pass time watching the grandkids swim till their skin had wrinkled, tease them about robins that flew from Winnipeg to Orlando on the same schedule as the family trips.  Bob connected with each one of them and created special memories that will never be lost.    

 

Bob’s family chooses to cherish Bob’s memory by remembering the good times, celebrating his life and helping others whom suffer a similar challenge. 

 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Manitoba.

 https://mssociety.ca/