Norwich Remembers Mr. Merchants

Wednesday, 23 July 2025 07:18

Photo Credit: Norwich Jr C Merchants Facebook page

Residents have been placing Merchants memorabilia outside their homes in memory of Randy Nobbs.

NORWICH - The Village of Norwich is mourning the loss of a hometown hero.

Randy Nobbs, also known as Mr. Merchants, passed away suddenly on July 12th as the age of 66.

He dedicated over 50 years to the Norwich Merchants Junior C hockey club, first joining as a 15-year-old player for his hometown team in 1974. He wore the red and white jersey for six seasons, before he decided to join the Merchants executive once his playing days were over in 1980. He eventually became the President in 1982, and carried that role for 29 years before stepping down and continuing to serve as a Director for the remainder of his life.

Current President Andy Riley says Nobbs would always lend a helping hand, whether he was at the arena or out in the community.

"He did everything for the hockey team that he possibly could and he did it all his life. As far as the community, there's a lot of people that probably don't know all of the stuff he had done. If there was an older person that he hadn't seen outside for a while, especially in the winter time, he would go check on them. If somebody needed something, he would help them out no problem. He was a real class act."

Nobbs received the Government of Canada Award for his community contributions. The Norwich Chamber of Commerce also honoured him with the Citizen of the Year Award in 2023.

Colin Percy, one of the Directors of the Merchants, says several people have placed Merchants jerseys and memorabilia outside their homes in his memory.

"When I walk around town, I've seen at least a dozen jerseys hanging out there with the hockey sticks. It's kind of reminiscent of when the whole country did that for the Humboldt Broncos, well this community has taken that on board with Randy."

On behalf of the Norwich Merchants, Percy thanked everyone for their support during this difficult time.

"It definitely came as a shock to us to lose Randy, but the outpouring of support from not only the Norwich community but from the teams within the Doherty Division, the entire PJHL, and pretty much all across the province. It has been phenomenal and it just shows the impact of what a person Randy was."

A celebration of life will be taking place in the auditorium of the Norwich Community Centre on Saturday August 9th from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.. The speeches will begin at 2:00 p.m. and the event will be open to the public.

*The following pictures were submitted to Heart FM through the Norwich Ont Community Sharing Facebook Group