Samuel James Greenwood

Born: October 15, 1929

Passed Away: January 9, 2008

VE7 SAM is Silent Key.

Sam Greenwood passed away quietly in his sleep early Wednesday morning.

Dad had been hospitalized with a compression fracture in his spine since a fall in early November. While in hospital care Dad was diagnosed with Vascular Dementia and was transferred to Evergreen House for long term care.

Born in Blackpool, England, Dad grew up in the seaside resort town during the Depression and World War II.

In his youth Dad was an avid tinkerer. His interests in radio, photography, and aviation lead to his choosing the exciting new field of electronics as his career.

Dad’s National Service was with the RAF. It was here he was trained in Radar theory and operation. His tour of duty included being posted to Malaya for 10 months. He spoke often of this adventure.

Following National Service, Dad returned to Blackpool and over the next few years worked at several electronic jobs including a stint at a Nuclear Energy Plant as an Instrument Technician. In 1954 he married Jean Clough.

In 1957 our parents, and six month old baby Steven emigrated to Canada.

After a couple of years working for Phillips Electronics, Dad was hired by the CBC in 1960 as a Transmitter Technician. These were Dad’s happiest working days. He traveled all over the BC South Coast repairing or installing transmitters for both radio and television. Dad always looked fondly on his 14 years with the CBC.

In 1974 Dad left the CBC to pursue a career as an Electronics Instructor at the Vancouver Vocational Institute.

For the Montreal Olympics in 1976, Dad was asked to temporarily return to the CBC working for their Olympic Host Broadcaster unit to help with the groundbreaking Helicopter/Ground Car setup for the Marathon, Cycling, and Walking races.

Dad retired from teaching in 1989.

In his retirement Dad and Mom traveled all over the world. Also Dad enjoyed his hobbies of Ham radio and computers. He was a frequent attendee of CBC 20 Year Association gatherings and enjoyed his time both with old friends and new acquaintances.

Sam Greenwood is survived by his wife of 54 years, Jean, sons Steven, Ron, Philip (Betsy), and his beloved grandson Thomas.

At our father’s request there will be no service.

In lieu of flowers a donation to the charity of your choice would be appreciated.

Notes of remembrance may be passed to jgreenw@shaw.ca or rgreenwo@shaw.ca