Mr. William Ellsworth Vance

Bill Vance, age 103, passed away September 18, 2014 following a brief illness during which he was constantly attended by his devoted family and caregivers. Predeceased by his wife of 67 years, Evelyn Gertrude (Hiltz), he is survived by his daughters Sharon (Edward Johnson), Susan (Mark Spencer), Stephanie (Clifford Carson), Libby (Mark Blackwood) and son William (Bill) Jr. (Kelly Causier), together with grandchildren Vance Spencer, Stephanie Johnson, Mitchell and Vanessa Vance, and Jacqueline Blackwood, Ruth Spencer and Rachael Thompson.

Bill was born in Grandview, Manitoba on April 6, 1911, the son of William Mitchell Vance and Freda Stephanie Jackson. The family moved to the Okanagan Valley and then Nelson, B.C. where Bill’s father developed the SunRype label. An energetic athlete, Bill, along with brothers Vern and Art, and with his father as skip, won the British Columbia Curling Championships in 1929.

Bill volunteered for service in the Canadian Army in 1942 and transferred to the British Army under the CanLoan program. As a Lieutenant with the 53rd Division of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, he was wounded in action in Normandy. Bill returned to action with the British Second Army Headquarters at Falaise Gap, was promoted to Captain, and subsequently participated in the liberation of the Bergen Belsen concentration camp.

It was during officer training in New Brunswick that Bill met the love of his life, Evelyn Hiltz of Kentville, Nova Scotia, a Lieutenant in the Canadian Army Nursing Corps. They were married in Aldershot, England in August, 1945.

Returning to Trail, B.C., Bill and Evelyn raised their family of five. Bill and his brother Art, built Vance Brothers, a successful grocery distribution business. In 1983, Bill and Evelyn moved to White Rock, B.C. where Bill continued to be active in mining ventures, serving as a director of over a dozen companies, including New Goliath Gold (discoverer of one of the Hemlo properties) and Aurizon Mines Ltd.

Bill’s unwavering integrity, gracious good nature and positive attitude- to the end he was “never better!”, -affected all who knew him. Above all, he will be remembered for his deep devotion to family, who will miss him so.

Bill always believed he lived under a lucky star. Should you venture out a night and look at a star-lit sky, the brightest star you see may be Bill Vance’s lucky star.

A remembrance of Bill’s life will be held in Noveber. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, #150-6450 Roberts Street, Burnaby, B.C. V5G 4E1 or at www.jdrf.ca