Robert George Velychko

Robert George Velychko
November 29, 1966 - August 14, 2026

It is with sadness and disbelief that we announce the passing of Rob Velychko on Friday, August 14, 2026, at age 59 in central Alberta. It is symbolic to his families that Rob’s final hours were spent in the company of his only child and that his place of death was exactly halfway between his Edmonton family and his Calgary family.

In mid-August, although not well enough to travel, Rob set out to have a visit with his daughter Kes, of whom he was so very proud. While there, Rob succumbed to his illness and peacefully slipped away into the good night.

After decades in the auto body industry, Rob’s health issues forced him to retire. He missed being productive with his hands, creating, repairing, finishing then standing back and admiring his work. He would want the world to know he did finish his own car and talked about that Beaumont as though he’d made it with his own hands. And he mostly did. He got his start at Street Heat, spent a couple of years in St. Albert working at the Ron Hodgson body shop and went on to spend the great majority of his career at A-1 Auto Body in Calgary. He was proud of their solid reputation and his relationships there.

Some people make friends for a season, but Rob made friends for a lifetime. In his fifties, he still valued the friendships he’d made from junior high school onward. He was private with what he shared, but those who knew him well saw he was a gentle soul, who didn’t have a mean bone in his body, and that he went through life with the best intentions. He was a go-along-to-get-along kind of guy. Rob became a dad at 24, so he and his young daughter figured out life together. Through life’s ups and downs, they always made their way back to each other.

For his whole life, he had a deep interest in vintage cars, family history, and rock bands. He took great pleasure in hanging out with those who could take a good ribbing. As a kid he was teased, but as he grew older he could give it as well as he could take it. Rob found humour in all sorts of situations. His laugh was big and loud, and almost anything could set it off, from the playfully cute to the downright raunchy. 

His style was understated. He rarely wore anything with a brand label, often dressed in black or grey clothes, a weathered ball cap and often a toque. That was his everyday uniform. He wasn’t impressed by flashy and was drawn to people who were real with themselves and each other, accepting them for all their flaws and quirks. The only people he truly disliked were those who told him he needed a haircut. To him, the world would have been a better place if people kept their judgements to themselves, if smoking had no consequences and if there were no bumblebees, wasps and hornets. He went to great lengths to avoid being stung.

As a child, Rob read Popular Mechanics and MAD magazines, every comic book he could get his hands on and large sections of Encyclopedia Britannica. While in the zone, he built model cars with precision and could be kept busy for hours with Lego. His teenage life was not easy, as he struggled to find himself. It helped him so much to be accepted by family and friends. Like most people, he needed to belong and to be known. Rob was a son, brother, uncle, nephew, cousin, friend and, for much of his youth, a dedicated altar boy in the Catholic Church. Even after one episode of fainting during a Mass, he persevered.

Left to mourn are Linda, the mother who brought him into this world; Stephanie, the mother who raised him; his daughter Kes (Billy) and grandsons Evan and Ryan; his girlfriend Natalie; his sister Lori (Rob) and nephews Fergus and Grady; his sister Colleen, nephew Lorin (Bailey) and great-nephew Zander; his sister Carmen; his brothers Darren, Tony (Charlene) and Jade; his brother Dion (Rachelle) and nieces Tenley, Tavery, Cloe (Reese); his step-dad Pat; and his many aunts, uncles and cousins all across Canada and the U.S.

Rob is predeceased by George Velychko, the dad who raised him, and died in January 2018; and John Samoila, his biological dad, who died in October 2025. Of all his family, Rob looked most like John. 

To celebrate Rob’s life and what would have been his 60th birthday, please join the families on Sunday, November 29, 2026, at 1pm at LB’s Pub, 110 - 23 Akins Drive, St. Albert, AB, T8N 3B3.

In Rob’s honour, you are welcome to come wearing a favourite concert T-shirt. If it’s from the 1980s, even better. Bring along anything fun related to KISS, a band he idolized through his youth. He’d also be amused with any shirt featuring a car or car logo.

RSVP to Linda at lindadionnebeier@gmail.com so we can arrange a luncheon. Let’s raise a glass to Rob, whose life will forever stand as an example of the power of healing, of forgiveness and of accepting what we cannot change.