Hockey circles – including those in Petrolia – are mourning the loss of Bill Stobbs.

Stobbs was an active volunteer – including as a Petrolia Town Councillor – but spent much of his energy in rinks and hockey board rooms around Ontario.

The Provincial Junior Hockey League says Stobbs – who recently made his home in Chatham and Windsor – was the director of the Hockey Development Centre of Ontario and held positions with the Ontario Hockey Federation. He also managed what was then the Great Lakes Junior C division and rewrote its constitution.

Stobbs was award the highest honour of the Ontario Hockey Association – the gold stick for outstanding service and was named a life member of the association.

Stobbs hockey roots also extend to Petrolia. He was part of the Allan Cup Championship winning Petrolia Squires in 1981.

In his obituary his family wrote; Stobbs “lit up a room when he walked in with his booming voice and huge smile and never missed an opportunity make you feel welcome. He was a giver and the epitome of a nice man.”