John McNeilly was a founding member of the Edmonton Motorcycle Ride for Dad (“MRFD”) and served as the Co-chair for the first 4 years, and continued as a Director until his death.  He was awarded the Kiwanis Top Cop award in 2009 for his work with and for MRFD.

John served 2 years as the Western Canadian Manager overseeing all rides in Western Canada and was instrumental in starting rides in Didsbury, Vancouver Island, Yellowknife, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg.

John’s quiet style of leadership was respected by all and his sometimes dark, but well-timed humor was sure to set the tone and mood of a meeting.  He never spoke before thinking about his response, and his guidance was sound.  He was involved in not just MRFD, but HOG, Blue Knights, Masons, to name just a few as well as serving 35 years with the Edmonton Police Service.

John started with the Edmonton Police Service in 1977, was promoted to the Drug Unit in 1988, and spent the remainder of his career in plainclothes with the exception of an 18 month period when he was in the Sergeant’s position.  In 1992, John left the Drug Unit to work in a variety of other investigation units. John received a “Police Exemplary Service” medal in February 1998, and a “First Bar” in 2008.  John retired from the Edmonton Police Service on January 25, 2013.

John passed away on March 24, 2020, after a hard battle with lung cancer that spread throughout his body; he was 64 years old.  John will be dearly missed by his family, many friends, coworkers, and associates.

Ken combined his love of motorcycle riding with his passion for organizing charitable causes by volunteering as a Site-Coordinator for the annual Edmonton Chapter of the Motorcycle Ride For Dad (RFD) bike rally in 2010. This charitable organization was set up to raise awareness of prostate cancer in men and fund research for better early detection methods of this cancer.

In an ironic twist of fate, undiagnosed prostate cancer is the disease that took Ken’s life at age 59 early in 2012. Ken is survived by his wife Ilene two sons, Christopher and Ryan, and two daughters Heather and Katherine. Christopher is carrying on in his capacity as a graphic artist to support the 2012 Edmonton Motorcycle Ride For Dad.

Ken’s attention to detail and ability to organize will be missed by the organizing committee of the Edmonton Motorcycle Ride For Dad. To die completely, a person must not only have passed on, but be forgotten, and Ken will never be forgotten by those of us on the organizing committee whose lives he touched.

I mourn the loss of a close friend that I have known for many years. Ken was one of those people that came into my life that I immediately knew was meant to be there. I must soldier on without Ken to do as he would say “do this, that and the other thing”.

Bob Chalmers had several hobbies/passions, one of which was motorcycling.  Bob was one of the first members of the “Red Knights Chapter Alberta 1”, a motorcycle club whose members are mostly firefighters.  With his fellow club members, Bob travelled a lot on his motorcycle; he attended several Red Knights conventions (e.g. Warwick, RI; New York, NY; Boston, MA, Winnipeg, MB; Montreal, QC, etc.).  Bob was quite proud to state he had been to every province in Canada and most of the United States on his bike (1982, 1999, and then his 2008 Honda Gold Wing – the only way to travel)!

In 2007, Bob was one of the founding members of Edmonton’s Motorcycle Ride for Dad Executive, and, in 2007 and 2008, carried out his duties on the Sponsorship Committee with dedication and enthusiasm. As a member of the MRFD, Bob was able to combine two passions…motorcycling and helping others.  Don Brandon and Bob would seek sponsors for Prostate Cancer in Edmonton and they made a good team!  In 2008, Bob was instrumental in getting the “Alberta Rural Ride for Dad” started with his brother-in-law, Tony Overwater, of Didsbury, AB. That Ride continues to grow and be very successful!  Bob was a proud member of the Edmonton Fire Department for 35 years (October 1973 to December 2008).  In June 2003, Bob was diagnosed with leukemia, one of the prescribed cancers for the purposes of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act for firefighters.  He was doing fairly well until 2009, but on July 6th, Bob lost his fight with leukemia.

100 hp Roadstar I stripped down to frame & motor chromed everything painted flat black added a lot of custom stuff to make her fit me for those long 500 mile a day cannonball rides we go on.

2012 Yamaha Stryker 

 I’ve only ridden a few bikes, but when you find one that feels right, you know. This bike feels right. The only thing I modified was a seatback -for peace of mind when I have a passenger, particularly my daughter. 

For the first 12 years with The Ride For Dad, I rode my ’86 Harley Davidson FLST Heritage Softail, red and cream

For the last 8 years I have ridden my 2012 Harley Davidson FatBoy Lo, flat black.