William Sherwood Dawson

Bill was born in Olds, Alberta in 1944. He was the eldest child to Lawrence and Helen Dawson. Bill was raised in Sundre, Alberta on a farm where he learned to ride horses, take care of animals, drive tractor and put in a long days work. He did well in school and graduated from Sundre, Alberta to then go to become a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He graduated from Depot in Ottawa, Ontario in 1965 and drove out to British Columbia to his first post in Burnaby. He also served at U.B.C., Richmond and Surrey where he retired in 1996 after 31 years of service.

Outside of work, Bill enjoyed hunting and fishing with his brothers back in Alberta, golfing, meeting friends for coffee and coaching his kids baseball teams. Into his retirement, he was sure to keep in contact with his work colleagues through regular phone calls. He also drove tractor again for a local farmer where he loved getting up before the crack of dawn to get out to the fields to see the changing landscape. He loved to talk about farming and seem to feel most at home when he had fields around him and was busy working the land.

Bill was pre-deceased by his mom and dad, and brother David Dawson. Bill is survived by his three other siblings, Jerry Dawson (Denise), MaryAnn Bugbee and Jane Steuer. He is also survived by his three children, Cindy (Ken), Sam (Jocelyn), and Tara (Marc) and grandchildren Jordan, Nathan, Ben, Kalli, Katie and Ryan. He was proud of his kids and grandkids and he did his best to go and see them at their many sports that they all played over the years including baseball, soccer, softball and hockey.

Bill had a thirst for knowledge and was proud to serve his community through the RCMP. He loved helping the old and the young and he always did what was right. Bill will be remembered for always being willing to share a story and for reminiscing about the RCMP and the great colleagues he worked with. His colleagues always commented what a great investigator he was, how hard he worked and that he always had a story to share. He liked to listen to others to see how he could help or solve a problem. Even in his last days as he was bedridden in his retirement home, residents there commented that they missed him at the supper table as he always had a story to share which would make those around him smile or laugh.

A private family celebration of Bill’s life has already taken place and there will be no further service at this time.

Remembered with respect and gratitude for his service.

If you would like to share a message with the family, you may email them at:

[email protected]

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to The Alzheimer Society in British Columbia. Donations can be made through: https://alzheimer.ca/bc/en