Bill Vance
1935-2022
Vance, William «Bill» Gordon (19
November 1935 – 19 September
2022)
Loved and held by his family, Bill Vance passed into
God’s sheltering wings at home by the fire, amidst his
books, on Monday September 19, 2022, with gratitude for his
life. Bill is survived by his adoring wife Beth of 35 years,
by his children Andrew Vance, Rev. Dianne (Jim) Everitt and Susan
Vance (Marc Serrett) who respected and loved him and by his
grandchildren David William, Marie Isabelle, Joseph «Joey»
James and Colleen Dianne, who treasured their Papa. Greatly
loved and missed by Shauna and Al Jones and Cousin Neil McKay and his
wife Doreen. For 32 years, Bill and Beth enjoyed a happy
life in Rockwood, ON, and Bill’s quiet friendliness will be
missed by all of his neighbours. A graduate of McMaster University, he
was so proud to have his granddaughter Marie representing the third
generation to study there. He spent his career in Personnel
with the Ontario government. Bill was a man of integrity and
as honest a person as you could ever meet. He was a generous
and kind father and grandfather; he was quiet and humble, with a
razor-sharp intellect. He will be missed by his great many
loyal readers of automotive history. He was supremely
grateful to have been given the opportunity to publish his writing,
and he devotedly wrote for his dear readers, until the very end of his
life. He passed away as one of Canada’s most
respected automotive historians. He had a feeling of peace
that he had written for people who enjoyed his writing and appreciated
the work of the staff at the newspapers that carried his column so
much. His grandsons will work to find a good home for Bill’s
incredible and hard-to-surpass automotive history library. Bill began
his automotive writing career more than 50 years ago, covering the
full spectrum of automotive subjects. His interest in
history and technology gradually led him to a specialization in
automotive history where his keen appreciation for and knowledge of
both the social and engineering evolution of the automobile was
evident in his authoritative writing. He was often consulted
for his expertise, and his weekly automotive history column was
syndicated to newspapers in Canada and the United States.
His close attention to technical detail, historical accuracy combined
with his accessible writing style and choice of subjects made his
columns popular wherever they appeared. The many cars Bill
test drove, some exotic, always thrilled his own children and those in
the neighbourhood. Born to a single mother and raised in
Grey County, ON, Bill spent the first four years of his life
travelling around with his mother cleaning houses. Poverty forced his
mother to drop him at the Grey County Children’s Home in
1939 and, broken-hearted, he spent the next 6 years there.
He considered it one of the luckiest breaks of his life to be adopted
by Queenie and Harvey Vance in 1945. He felt very lucky and
blessed in his life, with his family and opportunities that had been
given him, and he died with a feeling of peace about all things. A
Celebration of Bill’s life will be held on his birthday in
November. Arrangements entrusted to
GILCHRIST CHAPEL – McIntyre
& Wilkie Funeral Home, One Delhi Street, Guelph,
(519-824-0031). If desired, memorial
contributions made to the Festival of the Sound, P.O. Box 750, Parry
Sound, ON P2A 2Z1 1-866-364-0061 in honour of Bill Vance would be
appreciated by the family. We invite you to leave your memories and
donations online at: www.gilchristchapel.com
and they will be forwarded to the family.
19352022
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Bill Vance 19352022..
Décès pour la Ville:Guelph, Province: Ontario