BGen (Res F) Peter Barton Kilby, RCCS (Retired)

07 Jul 20

On Tuesday, the 7th of July, Peter Kilby passed away at 86 years of age.

He is survived by his loving wife Barbara Kilby (Stobbs), with who he shared 64 years of marriage; and his children Acton Kilby and wife Margaret Kilby, Elizabeth Spencer (Kilby) and husband Doug Stangeland, as well as grandchildren David, Thomas and Mary. He is survived by one of his siblings, Mrs Margaret Robertson (Kilby) of Prince George, BC and pre-deceased by his Brothers Gordon and Thomas Acton Kilby. All of those who remain are heartbroken at the loss of a partner, sibling, father, grandfather and friend.

Mr. Kilby’s military career began in 1951 when he enlisted in the Royal New Westminster Regiment Later, he earned his commission as an Armoured Corps Officer and eventually served as a Signals Officer for the Royal Canadian Regiment based in London, Ontario. He left Regular Forces in 1963 and returned to B.C., where he remained active with a reserve unit. He would go on to command the Rocky Mountain Rangers and then to become Militia Area Commander for all of British Columbia. He rose to the rank of Brigadier General before being transferred to the supplementary reserve. His influence while commanding the Reserve forces in BC set conditions for organizational and procedural changes which were taken on by the Canadian Army as the model for all Reserve areas throughout Canada.

Following his retirement from teaching (he was a teacher, Vice-Principle and Principle within the School District), Peter became an active volunteer with the region’s emergency management services assisting with emergency preparedness and response, and helping the region to develop better mechanisms to manage responses to both routine and significant emergencies. His personal efforts were most significant during Salmon Arms wildfires in 1998. As the fires threatened so many of the citizens, his support to the response effort ensured that resources were effectively managed and plans developed that reduced the overall impact of the fires and more broadly benefited the greater community.

Peter was cremated and his ashes will be scattered at a later date. Due to the current COVID-19 situation, the family has decided that a memorial service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers or gifts we ask that donations be made in his name to the charity Marion Kilby volunteers at, which is the North Okanagan – Shuswap Brain Injury Society (NOSBIS) at http://nosbis.ca (the ‘Donate Today’ button is at the top of the page). Online condolences may be sent to Peter’s family through his obituary at www.bowersfuneralservice.com.