BobSchutter (1950-2026)
Brinkman celebrates the life and legacy and mourns the passing of legend, long-time Project Manager, supervisor, and friend to all, Bob Schutter.
On March 01, 2026, during an early morning swim, Bob drowned in Lake Bacalar at his winter home in Quintana Roo, on Mexico’s Caribbean coast.
Bob is survived by his children, Snow, Kiem, Xavier, and Jesseca, by his partner of 36 years, Bonnie, and by his nine grandchildren, who loved him dearly.
An early contributor and leader of the tree-planting culture and industry, Bob was an iconic presence during the Brinkman field season, full of fun, mischief, and music. He loved everyone equally and fully, always spoke his mind, and, above all, Bob loved and embraced tree planting as a lifestyle, an experience, and a community.
Bob and his brother Fred emigrated to Canada together in 1971 to begin a long-planned life of adventure.
Dirk first met Bob in 1974, when he was short-handed on a contract and heard from a forester that “the Home Free Commune crew from Quadra had just finished their planting contract and some planters may be willing to keep planting.” Dirk sought them out, persuaded Bob and one other planter to join his crew, and an immediate lifelong friendship was formed.
In Mackenzie that same season, Bob was always the last one jumping out of his home/bus, naked, dressing as he ran, to catch the old yellow logging crummy, as it drove by loaded with trees and laughing planters, who always brought extra food for Bob knowing he would miss breakfast, which he would eat on the roof of the crummy as it cruised through the Mackenzie dirt roads.
Bob and his partner at the time, Prudence, were early pioneers of the ‘family camp’ phenomenon, with their daughters Jesseca and baby Snowflower, living with the crew in 1976, establishing a long tradition of welcoming and encouraging kids in planting camps, making the camps true homes for crews and their families.
Bob and Fred Schutter were Brinkman’s first true Project Managers, co-supervising for decades with a working relationship that combined Fred’s constantly questioning analytical mind, and Bob’s ‘joie de vivre’ and basic principle ‘Have Fun!’ that attracted and anchored us all.
“Schutter” translates into English as “Guardian,” and Bob and Fred practiced a ‘Guardian’ dedication to reliability, integrity, and patience in problem-solving, which led to a loyal crew of veteran planters and long-term clients. The proof of the Guardian/Schutter’s silviculture problem-solving is that, fifty years later, Brinkman continues to plant the same areas in Woss and Cranbrook where the Schutters pioneered our early relationships, working with some of the same clients and planters!
In 2007, when Bob handed his Project Management role to his lieutenants Barry and Rainer, it was time for Bob and Bonnie to begin their highly active retirement phase, homesteading as Opa to his nine grand kids, on the East Shore of Kootenay Lake in the summer, and wintering on Lake Bacalar welcoming family and planter friends to visit, managing rental assets and showing vacationers how to live life to the fullest. Bob remained very active up to the end of his life, sailing, bicycling, and swimming every morning, and it fills us with sadness that he has left us too soon and with joy that he has so deeply inspired us to live life to the fullest. At the same time, just the thought of “Bobbie doos” – the Dutch nickname for a man overflowing with love and happiness for his family and friends – is an immediate reminder of the joy, love and gratitude inspired by the wonderful contributions he made to each of our lives.
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