COLD LAKE – After more than four decades as a pharmacist, Bob Mattice, manager of Tri-City Guardian Drug Store in Cold Lake and current Cold Lake councillor, is hanging up his lab coat — but not his passion for public service.
On June 25, Mattice was celebrated by family, staff, and longtime customers during a farewell event marking his retirement from pharmacy management. His last official day on the job will be June 29.
“I have mixed emotions about it. It's such a privilege to be people's pharmacist,” Mattice said. “But it’s time.”
For 44 years, Mattice built a career around care and connection. He began his journey on May 21, 1981, in Westlock. “I thought I was the king of everything because I made $12.50 an hour,” he joked. “I drove a Camaro and had a mullet,” he recalled.
After working in Rocky Mountain House, Mattice and his family made Cold Lake home on August 2, 1988.
Mattice recalled buying the original pharmacy on Main Street, where Panago sits today, and relocating to the mall in 1997. Since then, Tri-City Guardian has been a cornerstone of the community.
Reflecting on the relationships he built over that time, Mattice said, “You could give better health care by knowing the family history and everything, so that was really cool,” adding that in some cases he has served three generations of families.
Beyond medications and prescriptions, Mattice became known for his humor, generosity, and Saskatchewan work ethic. “I get to try a lot of jokes on everybody, so that’s always good,” he laughed.
Though he’s stepping away from the pharmacy, Mattice won’t be stepping away from Cold Lake. “We do have plans, we're not going anywhere. I'm just retiring from pharmacy management.”
And he’s already preparing for his next chapter, running for mayor in the upcoming municipal election.
“I've always had that public service in my mind, like, bloom where you're planted,” he said. “I always want to give back to the community, make Cold Lake a better place for people.”
His years as a pharmacist, he said, have given him deep insights into healthcare access, community needs, and crisis management. “How to bridge the gaps in the doctor shortage, how to bridge the gaps in human kindness where people don't have any money,” he explained. “Just that whole how to take care of a town or your base of patients.”
Even in retirement, Mattice plans to keep his license active. “Because it's like your grandpa's driver's license — if you give it up, you don't get it back,” he said.
With 37 years in Cold Lake and 44 in pharmacy, Mattice remains grateful. “I’ve been very fortunate, and I put the work in, but still — been very fortunate with people and customers and staff.”
