Rob Dunn, who published The Valley Peak passed away last week. He had been battling serious health issues for several years. It still came as a shock to many of his friends and acquaintances. It seemed he had been on the doorstep quite a few times and always battled back. This time, unfortunately, it was not to be.

Rob’s paper, The Valley Peak resembled a coffee newspaper that you often find in cafes. Like a coffee news The Valley Peak contained jokes and ads, however, The Peak was much more. It was usually 8 pages printed on coloured bond paper, published weekly and widely distributed up and down the valley. But what really differentiated it from any other publication was that it contained a lot of Rob.

He promoted many worthwhile causes over the years. He set up a free food bin on one of Invermere’s streets for people in need. He espoused the benefit of gardening, fishing, cannabis use and roaming the outdoors. He often expressed his love for his hounds and the joy of being a dog owner.  He and I shared a love of stargazing and that is what we often talked about, as we did when we met in the grocery store about a week before his passing.

Rob was also a self described conspiracy theorist. Since the start of Covid he dedicated part of The Peak to his thoughts on the disease, vaccinations and alternative medicine. He also tackled other subjects such as global warming, woke culture and government interference. He had plenty of followers that agreed with his stance and also many people who did not. Regardless, he always seemed to know where to draw the line as not to piss off too many people, especially advertisers that he had many of. I was always in awe of this skill. Perhaps it was because he was always good natured.

An often theme of his short column Robservations was to treat each other with respect and compassion even when we don’t feel like it or have different views. It is a good message.

It seems the Valley is losing its character and special characters. Rob certainly was a character without replacement. Lisa and I extend our condolences to his family and friends. 

Happy stargazing Rob, wishing you clear skies and good fishing.