It’s Blog Post 129.

In the 1988 Tom Cruise film, Cocktail, the main character had to write his own obituary for a school assignment. I have chosen to do the same. Apparently, it can be therapeutic, motivational, and help the ego face the fear. What fear?

OBITUARIES 2056

Roy Gunnar Mundheim (October 18th, 1974 – April 30^th, 2056)

Roy was born in Port Alberni, Canada to Norwegian immigrants, Harald and Irene Mundheim. He was an only child who his parents doted on and made the center of their world. Roy spent much of his youth enjoying the outdoors and being active, while having a sense of humor and personality that brought joy to all those who knew him. He took to soccer at an early age and was on the field and in the front yard as much as possible practicing his skills. As a teenager, he dreamed of playing soccer in Europe and earned opportunities with professional and semi- professional teams in Canada, England, and Norway. In his early twenties, injury and health issues derailed his dream of professional soccer but he was able to return to playing amateur soccer and eventually returned to Norway for a final season in his early thirties before retiring. He would often speak of all the wonderful opportunities he had playing soccer and the many life lessons it gave him.

Roy met his wife Lesly in 2002 and they soon became inseparable. They travelled together to Norway for a soccer season and then returned to Canada, moving to Campbell River where they got married on July 7^th, 2007. Roy returned to school at the age of thirty-one and earned his GED and then his Bachelor of Science in Nursing, graduating in 2011 with distinction. Roy and Lesly moved to downtown Vancouver in 2011 to ‘experience the city life’ and stayed there until Roy’s retirement from nursing in 2031. Roy had numerous jobs as a nurse working at Vancouver General Hospital and The Vancouver Hospice before joining Vancouver Coastal Health’s Community Rehabilitation team in 2019.

It was in Vancouver that Roy took up writing and became an author and blogger. He started the blog, Write or Wroy in May of 2016. It was a critical, introspective, sarcastic review of life, love, and the human condition that ran for ten years and garnered many readers. Roy wrote four books in his life which he self published and still sells copies to this day. His first book was Nursing: The Funny Side of the Bedside which was a humorous look at nursing, health, and the human condition. His second book was the critically acclaimed novel, Jonah Chooses Amazing. Roy would go on to write and sell the screenplay for the book after his retirement. Jonah Chooses Amazing won the 2034 Oscar for best screenplay and best movie. Roy continued to write and released two more books, The Regrets We Can’t Have and The Homeless Doctor.

Roy was an avid traveller enjoying taking in new cultures, meeting different people, and seeing as much of the world as possible. Roy and Lesly were fortunate to have travelled to over 30 countries together before retiring and then added an additional 30 countries post retirement. Roy spoke fluent Norwegian and Spanish and was never afraid to give a new language a try wherever they were in the world.

Roy was a lifelong Vancouver Canucks fan and was at Roger’s A.I. Arena when the Canucks won the Stanley Cup in 2030. He called it one of the great moments of his life. He was also an avid fan of the Seattle Mariners, despite being Canadian and being told he should support the Toronto Blue Jays. Roy spoke often of the Mariner’s World Series wins in 2026, 2027, and 2028.

Ultimately, Roy’s passion was humor, laughter, and finding joy in life. He believed that life should be enjoyed and the limited time we have should be filled with as much good as possible. Roy enjoyed beer with friends, wine with his wife, and good food from home to around the world.

Roy is predeceased by his parents, Harald and Irene and his In-laws, Adeline and Everet Engdahl. He leaves behind his wife, Lesly of 48 years, his brother in law, Mark Engdahl, his sisters in law, Lydian Stubbs and Christine Overland, and vast extended family in both Canada and Norway. He also leaves behind many great long time friends including his best friend, Corey Germansen.  Roy was loved, loved back, and will be missed dearly.