William (Bill) Francis Herzer

Bill is survived by his loving family including Frances, his wife of almost 53 years, Bruce his son, and daughter-in-law Stacey, grandchildren Juliette and Brennan, brother Rick, sister-in-law Margot, nieces Angela and Teina, and many loving cousins. He was predeceased by his daughter Andrea.

Bill was born on March 12, 1943 in Shawinigan Falls (now simply Shawinigan) Quebec, where his mother was a special education teacher and his father managed the Alcan aluminum smelter, producing aluminum that supported the war effort. Behind their house was a railway track, where a neighbour found him happily playing one day on the rails and brought him home. Bill’s first contact with railways, which were to become his passion.

In the late 1940s the family, now including little brother Rick, moved to Montreal, living first in St. Lambert and then in Notre Dame de Grace. In 1950 his family moved to Minas Gerais, Brazil where his father was manager of the Alcan aluminum and ferro-alloy smelter in Saramenha just outside the historic town of Ouro Preto. Roads were primitive and rough; many families had horses and open country was just outside the back gate. Bill attended the local school and quickly became fluent in Portuguese. Saramenha was a small mining and smelting town, and there the two boys and their six closest friends were exposed to engineering and rocks: trucks, bulldozers, mines, hydro dams, power stations! Seven of them went on to become engineers or geologists.

Bill was sent to Winnipeg, Canada in 1954 to continue his schooling in the Canadian system at St. John’s Ravenscourt School, living with his grandparents for a year, then boarding for a year. He was a prefect and captain of the Lower School.

The family moved back to Montreal in 1956 and Bill attended Mount Royal High School, concentrating on science and mathematics. He played linebacker on the high school football team. His final year of high school was at McGill University which at the time ran a Grade 12 course of studies.

In 1961 the family moved to Gottingen, Germany. Bill spent at least one of his summer holidays working for a company making microscopes and other optical equipment. Another time he worked digging ditches. Along the way he picked up a good working knowledge of German.

In 1965 Bill graduated with an Engineering degree from Queen’s University, where he was Secretary of the Engineering Society. Shortly after, he completed his MBA at the University of Michigan in 1968. A talented engineer with a sharp mind for finance, management and leadership, Bill initially worked with the Canadian Pacific Railroad in market development. In 1972 he married Frances, and took his new bride to Kuala Lumpur where he worked with the Malaysian Railway. Returning initially to Montreal he and Frances next moved to Calgary in 1974, where their two children were born. In 1978 the family moved west to their eventual long term home of Vancouver, where he was the owner and general manager of Northwest Logistics with his good friend Ted Truman for several years, before joining Canadian Pacific Consulting Services. This led to Bill and his young family spending seven exciting years living in Bandung, Indonesia where he was the Project Director of the Bukit Asam Rail Project, an avid Hash House Harrier and an active member of the expatriate social scene where he formed many lifelong friendships.

On returning to Canada in 1988, Bill joined Klohn Crippen/HA Simons where he worked locally on the West Coast Express railway and the Vancouver Island Highway. Soon his international project expertise experience was called upon again, and with Vancouver as his base Bill traveled frequently, working on transportation consulting projects in Vietnam, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Republic of Georgia, Bangladesh, and Brazil, many of these with Canarail Consultants. Wherever he travelled, Bill made friends easily and showed great respect and interest for the cultures and countries where he was a guest.

Bill was a keen sportsman and liked being active, playing football, rugby, squash, golf and loving swimming, running, canoeing, scuba diving and skiing. His commitment to an active lifestyle persisted even in his last years as he took great joy attending calisthenics classes at Dunbar Community Center.

He was a voracious reader, with a deep appreciation and knowledge of history; in particular he took great interest in Canadian history, the enlightenment, Frederick the Great, and the Byzantine era. He enjoyed discussing international politics and finance, and the advancement of science. A lover of music, Bill enjoyed early classical, opera, jazz, and rock from the 50’s and 70’s.

He cherished time with his family, and in retirement enjoyed travelling with them to Palau for scuba diving, as well as Hawaii, Germany, Australia and New Zealand where his brother lives. Although separated by distance, he and his brother Rick stayed in close contact and enjoyed road trips together in BC and eastern Canada to explore family history and chart new paths.

Above all, those who knew Bill remember him as a gentle, kind and exceptionally generous man with an unwavering sense of service. He devoted much of his spare time to charities and non-profits, including serving as Chair of the Board of Cystic Fibrosis Canada’s BC Chapter, Regional Chair of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and various positions with Knox United Church, as well as giving prolifically to numerous charities. In 1999 he was a living lung donor to his beloved daughter Andrea who was struggling in her battle with Cystic Fibrosis. Bill lived a full life, driven by his strong work ethic and guided by his love for his family and his positivity, humour, optimism and fascination with the world around him.

A celebration of Bill’s life will be at Knox United Church, 5600 Balaclava St in Vancouver at 2pm on Friday February 21st.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Bill’s memory to Cystic Fibrosis Canada or the Alzheimer’s Society of BC would be welcome.