A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. August 9 at Crescent United Church, 2756 127 St. Surrey for Reverend Rodney Booth who died July 10 at age 80.
As Gord Lansdell wrote today in his “recent news” page at Northwest Broadcasters, Rod Booth became BC Regional Director of Broadcasting for the United Church of Canada in 1967. He took over church responsibility for the Sunday morning programs on CKWX Vancouver, and was the United Church liaison with BC media in general.
Along with his Anglican Church counterpart, the Rev. Art Hives and various Catholic Church colleagues, he formed Interchurch Broadcasting. Their weekly newsmagazine show Dateline was broadcast throughout BC and eventually across Canada for more than 10 years.
Rev. Booth moved to Toronto and worked with United Church Television and the Vision Network for many more years and won numerous awards for writing and production. He retired and returned to the Vancouver area in 1999.
Following is the obituary as printed in the classified section of the Vancouver Sun and Province, July 14-15, 2014
Rodney Maynard Booth
Rodney Maynard Booth August 1, 1933 – July 10, 2014.- Rod was Chairperson of the World Council of Churches’ Communicators’ Network, open-line radio, produced & hosted television programs like Spirit Connection on Vision TV. Was a National Editorialist for Canadian Broadcast News. He has worked for the WCC, he has provided resources and media/TV coverage from three Assemblies, and participated on in co-productions of documentaries with the BBC, NBC, and CBC earning him many awards over the years in the international film venues.
-Rod loved music. He could play: guitar, piano, French horn, trumpet, accordion, and was a gifted tenor. He moved back to Vancouver in 2002, Rod joined both the Vancouver Bach Choir and the Jubilate!, and later the EnChor choral group. His family loved to hear him sing.
– Rod was an adventurer and travelled the world, much of it with wife Maria. In his childhood spent many summers with his family on Lake Memphramagog, Quebec. Active till the end, only recently he worked with his son James on renewing the fence. Rod’s last outing was to daughter Kari’s cabin enjoying the lake. He leaves a huge void.
-A memorial service will be held at Crescent United Church, 2756 127 St, Surrey, BC on August 9th at 1 PM. In lieu of flowers, please donate a gift in memory of “Reverend Rodney Maynard Booth” to the BC Cancer Foundation
– See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/vancouversun/obituary.aspx?n=rodney-maynard-booth&pid=171721169#sthash.D0sWo9bG.dpuf
