William 'Bill' James McMurtry

He is survived by his loving children Karen (husband Mike), Tony (wife Cindy) and Deborah (husband Mark), his six grandchildren Lindsey, Chase, Kai, Quinn, Kaely and Rowan, and his youngest sister Ella, and her family in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Bill was born on 14th May 1935 in Belfast. Sadly, his own father, James, died when he was only seven years of age and life was incredibly challenging for his mother, Eleanor, and he and his siblings Jackie, Meta, Peggy, and Ella. Bill left school at the age of fourteen to begin an apprenticeship as a mechanic at the Ewart’s Linen Mill on Belfast’s Crumlin Road, where he met his first and lifelong love, Annette, who operated the looms he maintained there.

He immigrated to Montreal, Canada in 1956, where he married his beloved Annette, and they began their family. They relocated to B.C. in 1973. Bill worked for Signode Canada for more than twenty-five years, where he was a senior mechanical engineer and travelled throughout the province maintaining and repairing industrial equipment, eventually working on the first computerized industrial printers in lumber mills and canneries.

Bill was a member of Alcoholics Anonymous and achieved over forty years of sobriety. He supported hundreds of people with their own struggles with alcohol addiction and was a volunteer in B.C.’s provincial prisons where he ran meetings and counselled others to help them make positive changes in their own lives. His family are intensely proud of the work he did to improve his own life and health, and the way he gave selflessly to others.

Bill and Annette enjoyed a long retirement together, moving from their first home in Coquitlam, to Penticton, and then to White Rock. Over these years they were regular visitors to Reno, Nevada, spent multiple winters in Mesa, Arizona and enjoyed a wonderful family vacation in Hawaii. Mostly they spent time with their grandchildren who were at the centre of their lives and who they doted on.

Bill lost his beloved wife, Annette, in February 2021. He was a much-loved son, brother, husband, father, uncle, grandfather, and friend. Although we are heartbroken, our memories of his love, his humour, and his acts of selfless kindness will forever be a blessing to us. We know that he is together again with Annette in heaven and pray he rests in peace knowing how loved he is and what a positive difference his life made to so many.

Psalm 139; Verses 1 and 23-24

O Lord, you have searched me and known me.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my thoughts.

See if there is any wicked way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.

A viewing will be held at First Memorial Fraser Heights Chapel, Friday 2nd December at 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm.

Family flowers only please. Memorials or donations may be made to UNICEF.

The family will be gathering after the viewing at 3pm at Famosa Italian Pizzeria, Guilford Town Centre, 1001 – 10355 152 Street, Surrey, B.C. V3R 7C1, please feel free to join us to share your memories of Bill.