Barb Silvester was a member of Vernon Golf & Country Club for 50 years and liked to joke about how she had developed something of a reputation.
Silvester, who volunteered as a rules official for British Columbia Golf for many years, was a stickler when it came to pace of play and her many friends at the club knew they couldn’t dawdle when she was on the premises. “It’s like, ‘here comes Barb, let’s move it,’” Silvester recalled with a laugh five years ago, when she received British Columbia Golf’s Distinguished Service Award.
Golf remained a big part of Barb Silvester’s life right until the end. She passed peacefully on Oct. 9 at the age of 88. Just a few weeks earlier, Barb made one last visit to Vernon Golf Club to watch the ladies club championship.“She just loved that club,” her daughter Charlene said.
“She was even able to see the last club championship in August. That was her goal, to make it there. We sat beside the 18th green in a golf cart as all the ladies came off the course and they all came by and said hello.”
Barb was a longtime volunteer and past chair of British Columbia’s Golf’s Zone 2 Ladies section. Vicki Redding, the current Zone 2 secretary-treasurer, has known Barb for nearly 30 years. She said Barb’s contributions to Zone 2 can not be overstated. “I don’t think she missed working our Zone championship ever since I have known her,” Redding said.
“And when it came to rules she was always on top of everything. She made sure we were in line all the time. She was wonderful and I don’t know what the heck we are going to do without her. I have never seen anyone so dedicated to golf and to rules.”
The Zone 2 women wanted to honour Barb in some way and recently created what they are calling the Barb Silvester Bursary for Girls. “It will go toward helping one Zone 2 junior girl a year,” Redding said.
Ken Oleschuk, the Zone 2 men’s chair and another longtime British Columbia Golf rules official, worked many events with Barb. “She was a very active rules official,” Oleschuk said. “Barb was very detail-oriented. She was careful in her deliberations. I know for probably the last four or five years the (Zone 2) ladies were not able to find anyone to look after the junior girls program, so Barb stepped up to do that. She was definitely a stalwart of the Ladies section. She was always enjoyable to work with, easy to get along with. She will be sorely missed, for sure.”
Barb taught business education for 25 years at Vernon Secondary. Before she became a golfer, she was an avid badminton player. The hand-eye coordination required for that sport helped her transition to golf and she quickly fell in love with the game. “I like the game, it teaches one patience and forces you to stay under control, having to deal with both a good shot and a poor shot,” she said in that 2021 interview.
Barb continued to play the game deep into her 80s. “She loved to play although she said her game deteriorated as she got older and complained she only hit it half as far as she used to,” her daughter Charlene said.
“She just had such joy being out there with the ladies. She was strict with the rules but most of the ladies were very appreciative of that because she had such knowledge behind her. Up until she was 87, she was on the golf course and running around and doing stuff. And as recently as this past May, she was studying to re-up for her rules exam.”
Barb is survived by her two daughters, Trish (Kevin) and Charlene, grandson Jackson, sister Mary, and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. She was predeceased by her husband, Bud.
A Celebration of Life will be held next spring at Vernon Golf Club. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to North Okanagan Hospice Society. If you wish to attend Barb’s Celebration of Life, please email the family at CelebrateBarb2027@gmail.com.