William Panteluk

Panteluk, William, (Cmdr. Retired) 81Passed away peacefully on January 5th, 2013. He was born in Bienfait, Saskatchewan, October 11th, 1931 to John and Mary Panteluk.Wanting to see the world, Bill joined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1948 at the age of 17. He completed basic training in Esquimalt, BC and started his career as a telegraphist in HMCS Magnificent. He was selected for officer training which was carried out in HMS Temeraire, Scotland. Returning home to Canada in 1960 he served in many Canadian ships, including Cayuga, Stettler, Bonaventure and finally HMCS Protecteur as Executive Officer. Bill’s last military posting in Halifax was as the Deputy Commandant of the Stadacona Fleet School. After 37 years of service he left the military. He then served as a civilian for another 13 years as the Assistant to the Base Commander, retiring at the age of 70. Upon being recognized for serving Queen and country for 50 years, he jokingly announced that he would begin writing Harlequin romances. He readily admitted however, that this was one of the few things he was ill-qualified for.Billy, as he was often known, was an avid sportsman, organizing and playing in squash tournaments. He also played tennis and was very generous with his time in teaching co-workers, friends and grandchildren. He was an outgoing and gregarious man who loved to stop and chat with old and young alike. As he would often say, “it never hurts to dock your cap.” He adored kids and especially his grandchildren and great-grandchild. They were all “Panteluk trained”, especially on times tables, Canadian geography and reciting poems of Robert Service. For many years Bill led the children’s parade for the neighbourhood block party. He was never happier than playing ‘Mother May I’ with the kids.Pursuing a lifelong passion for learning, Bill obtained a BA in Russian and a BEd from Dalhousie University.He is survived by his loving wife of almost 60 years, Ruth (Fitzpatrick) and their two wonderful daughters, Catherine and Heather.All the children, grandchildren and great-grandchild will miss tea, cookies and quizzes now that Gido is gone. We all love you and will miss you greatly:

Ruth, Cathie, Kris, Jill, Jessica, Killian, Heather, Alan, Haley and Colin.Visitation to be held at Cruikshank’s Funeral Home, 2666 Windsor St. Halifax, Wednesday January 9th from 2-4pm and 6-8pm.Prayer service to be held Thursday, January 10th at 11am at Cruikshank’s Funeral Home. Burial will take place at a later date.The family wishes to give special thanks to Reverend Catherine MacDonald and to all the doctors, nurses and staff at the QEII Health Sciences Centre and especially the 9th floor at the Abbey J. Lane Memorial Building.

Submitted by Heather (daughter) Uren