Obituary
Robbie Davies passed away on Easter Sunday, April 1, 2018. He leaves his twin three and a half years old sons, Alistar and Evan, the mother of his sons, Julie, his brothers, Julius and Bryan, and his parents, Rita and Rhys.
He was born in Vancouver on June 19, 1979. He attended Queen Victoria Elementary, Laura Secord, two years in French Immersion at Sir Matthew Begbie Elementary, and then High School at Van Tech. After Van Tech he took courses at Capilano College (now Capilano University) and then transferred to the University of British Columbia, where he graduated in 2005 with a B.A. in Sociology.
He lived in Amsterdam for a while, and also taught English to young children in Japan. He was a talented writer and through friends he had made in Amsterdam he started writing, and then editing, the English-language site of PokerNews, the world’s leading poker media website. Robbie started working on PokerNews in 2008; he eventually rose to the position of CEO of its publisher iBus Media, and helped build PokerNews into the industry leader it is today. He spent several years living and working in Lithuania and then the Isle of Man. He returned to Canada permanently in 2014 and worked in online marketing, although over the past four years it became difficult and eventually impossible for him to work because of ill health.
Robbie was a gentle man, sensitive and perceptive. He loved music, played guitar, and followed, with pride and joy, his brother Bryan’s band, Brasstronaut. Robbie was also big on sports: hockey, baseball, football and soccer, and he enjoyed playing poker with his friends. Until his second brain surgery, Robbie was coaching an East Van neighbourhood juvenile soccer team. He brought all his intelligence and caring to coaching, it was a gift to him and from him. But the greatest joy and passion of his life since October, 2014 were his twins, Alistar and Evan. He loved them very much, and they adore their Dad.
Robbie had two brain tumours removed, one in 2011 and the other in 2016. The tumour removed in 2016 tested positive for cancer (a grade III Anaplastic Astrocytoma tumour), but the surgery was deemed successful in removing all the cancer and Robbie was luckily spared any further cancer treatments. However, Robbie was given a grim life expectancy, knowing that the tumour in all likelihood would grow into cancer again within 5 years and surgery would be too dangerous a third time around. Robbie’s cognitive abilities declined steeply after the second surgery, he even suffered a seizure. Robbie was also afflicted by ADHD, diagnosed late. His mental health suffered terribly in all of this. It saddened him deeply to realize that in all probability he would not see his boys grow up, or be able to provide for his family.
At the time of his death Robbie was receiving disability benefits. He was living with his parents who supported him as well as they could, and he used his benefits for his children as much as he could. But with his medical history Robbie unfortunately had no life insurance. With Robbie’s passing comes a heavy financial burden for Julie, as well as, more importantly, the lasting psychological impact on Alistar and Evan that the loss of their Dad will bring.
To help the twins, the Robbie Davies Memorial Fund has been established in Robbie’s loving memory, to create a trust fund to provide support over the coming years for Alistar and Evan. All money raised will go towards filling the gap and lessening the tragic impact of his death, as much as can be. The twins currently have monthly childcare fees, and in the near future they will begin the regular activities growing children need, which would have been supported greatly by their Dad – skating lessons, swimming lessons, soccer, baseball, etc. Due to their Dad’s health struggles the twins lives have been difficult thus far, and although they fortunately have a lot of assistance and love from family the weight the loss of their Dad will bring is not one that can be carried lightly. Robbie’s family gratefully declines flowers and instead asks that donations be made to the Robbie Davies Memorial Fund.
Donations to the Fund can be made through www.gofundme.com/robbiedaviesmemorialfund or by cheque payable to “DLA Piper (Canada) LLP” and mailed to:
DLA Piper (Canada) LLP
2800 Park Place
666 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6C 2Z7
Attn: Paula Bhamji
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Robert Geraint Davies June 19 1979 April 1 2018.source
Death notice for the town of: Vancouver, Province: Colombie britanique