Bill will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by his wife, the love of his life for 68 years, Annette (Lagimodière), children Dale (Lauren), Tom (Fran), Ann (John), Glen (Dee), and Peter (Anne), grandchildren Liam (Sarah), Colleen (Sajid), Natalie (Conor), Ian (Sarah), Breanna (Matt), Drew (Caity), Sarah, Cole and Bailey, great-grandchildren Quinn and Huxley, sisters Patricia Clements and Mary Cowie (Garth), brother-in-law and long-time work partner Ray Fitzpatrick, sisters-in-law Muriel Armstrong, Betty Anderson (Ed), Violet Lagimodière, Donnie Lagimodière, brothers-in-law Norbert Lagimodière (Connie), Albert Lagimodière (Judy), Brian Lagimodière, Brunel Vandal, and many nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by his parents William and Sarah, sisters Norah (Lee Patenaude) and Theresa Fitzpatrick and brothers Thomas (infant) and Michael, in-laws Hervé and Neva Lagimodière, sisters and brothers-in-law Judith Lagimodière (infant), Hervéline Vandal, Louis and Marion Lagimodière, Maurice Lagimodière, Alan Lagimodière, Ron and Helen Lagimodière, Wayne Armstrong, Andre Dartige, and Lionel Clements, and nephews Bruce, Neil, John, Greg and Dru Lagimodière and Blair Murray.
Dad was born on First St. in The Pas, Manitoba in 1927. The family moved to a simple farm on Rahl’s Island in 1938. The house was built from log booms and materials scavenged from the nearby Finger Lumber Company.
He graduated from grade 12 in 1945 when it was considered first year university. After enlisting for WWII on his 18th birthday, he was never happier than when the war ended ten days later.
His job with the Manitoba Government Air Division allowed him to travel all over the North. He built a cottage at Sailboat Drive on Clearwater Lake. Every summer he opened the cottage on May long weekend and closed it Thanksgiving weekend. During those months, he and his family and friends created countless memories. After work called him South, he continued to return to his beloved North.
After retirement from the Air Division, he worked for 11 years with his sons in their optometric practice.
Dad was known for his fierce devotion and loyalty to family and friends. He was always outspoken on the importance of female equality and empowerment, to which his granddaughters will attest. He often said he never learned how to play. He worked from the time he was a child cutting wood to keep the family warm to later in life building his own homes. He was a perfectionist and took great pride in his profession as an aircraft maintenance engineer for 40 years with the Manitoba Government Air Division. Pilots often said they felt safe knowing he had worked on their planes.
Bill was gifted with intelligence and memory. This legacy lives on in his descendants.
A funeral service will take place on Thursday, December 20, 2018 at 1 pm at Christ the King Parish 847 St. Mary’s Road, Winnipeg.
The family wishes to thank the special angels in dad’s life, Dr. Abdulrehman and Joanne as well as his “girls” Mariia, Gelila, Olga and Lesiya.
Donations in Bill’s memory can be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba or the Saint Boniface Hospital Research Foundation.
***BE GOOD DOH, EH!***
