William Harold Gilbert

I have been asked to say a few words about Bill from the family, but I feel as if I am writing an introduction to a thousand-page Russian novel. I don’t dare try to sum up a life in a few hundred words. It’s not possible, anyway, because Bill wasn’t defined by any one thing. You might know him as Bill the Banker who flew model planes on the weekend. Or maybe you knew him as The Model Plane Guy who played golf and curling when the winds were too strong. If you knew him from the links, maybe he was the one who was always traveling abroad to Indonesia, Cuba, or Denmark. You could have known Bill any number of ways, in any number of capacities, but one thing would be guaranteed: he would tell you stories about his family. He’d tell you about his son Steve and how incredibly bad the traffic in Jakarta is. Or about Valerie, the lawyer in the family. Or about Kevin, who works with computers and gets them to do some really interesting things. From there, the conversation could go in a hundred different directions. It might start with “I was reading a book about the battle of Agincourt…” or “I was trying to move a program I wrote to my new computer…” He could talk about anything because he had read something about everything: politics, genetics, the history of finance, philosophies of the world. On the day we first met, I told Bill about the way shrunken heads are made. Without missing a beat, he followed that with a discussion of cargo cults of the South Pacific. And laughter. There was always laughter when you talked with Bill because that’s how he saw the world: full of life, full of joy, and laughter.

“You left out Mom.” (That’s my mental image of Valerie speaking.) It’s hard for me to look into a light that bright and stand my ground. So, I’ll say this: They have been together for 58 years. Look at the pictures from the family album. Where you see Bill, you’ll see Hanne too, beside him, or near him. That says it all. Almost all: We were talking about photos once. He took out his wallet and showed me a picture of Hanne, a smiling young woman standing in the majesty of the Fraser canyon. It was his favourite picture of her, and he carried a copy of it, always.

It’s time to wrap things up. Remember him in whatever way you will. May you have the chance to honour him by spreading his generosity of spirit, his curiosity, and his joy of life into the world.

-- Chris Irie

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It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of William Harold (Bill) Gilbert. Bill was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on April 11, 1932 the son of Harold Graham Gilbert and Minnie Sullivan.

Bill was raised in Toronto and moved to B.C. as a teenager. He was employed by Royal Bank of Canada for more than 40 years. Bill lived a varied and interesting life crossing the country with his work, from the interior of British Columbia to the City of Montreal. Bill was an avid golfer and curler, being a member of the Bayview Golf and Country Club for more than 35 years. Bill was also involved in the Scarborough soccer community as a coach, administrator and past Chair of the Robbie Soccer tournament. He was also a model plane enthusiast and member of the Ajax Radio Controlled Model Club. With his wife, Hanne, Bill travelled extensively visiting such varied places as Costa Rica, Denmark, Indonesia, Mexico and Iceland, just to name a few.

Bill died at home on April 18, 2019 and will be missed by all of his many friends and family, including his beloved wife, Hanne (nee Wedseltoft); his son Kevin and daughter-in-law, Fernanda; his son Steven and daughter-in-law, Irene; and his daughter Valerie and son-in-law, Chris. As well as his loving grandchildren: Michael, Stephanie, Sofi and Ariel.

The family would like to extend an invitation to those that are unable to attend the Celebration of Life service in person to view the web cast on line at the following web address:

https://www.funeraweb.tv (Password 000355 )