Parcourez la nécrologie de William Emerson Phillips November 1 1938 August 9 2023 84 Years Old résidant dans la province Colombie britanique pour le détail des funérailles
Obituary
William Emerson Phillips died August 9, 2023 at his home in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Bill died from complications related to Alzheimer’s Disease and vascular dementia. He was lovingly cared for at home the last year of his life and left his family wonderful memories which will sustain them in the days ahead.
Bill is survived by his loving family: wife Evelyn; daughters Katherine (Iain), Robin, and Sylvia (Pat); granddaughters Lena, Joy (Michael), and Autumn; stepchildren David and Elizabeth (Randy); step-grandchildren Jordan (Julia), Julien (Ayden), and Erin. He is also survived by numerous cousins in Canada and the United States.
Bill was born November 1, 1938 in Fredericton, New Brunswick and raised in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia by his loving parents Lena (Rayner) and Emmerson Phillips. His father was a skilled carpenter, and his mother provided room and board for students attending the agricultural college next door to their home, the college which Bill would eventually attend. Bill had wonderful memories of growing up in Bible Hill, but as his memory failed, it was Prince Edward Island, the birthplace of his parents, to which he was drawn. It was where he spent many happy holidays with his large Phillips and Rayner extended families.
Bill graduated from Colchester County Academy in Truro in 1957. When he began his 2-year diploma program at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College that year, he hoped to go on for a Bachelor’s degree, but never dreamed that he would eventually pursue a Master’s and PhD. He was persuaded by his professors to continue his education, and after obtaining a BSc in Agriculture at McGill University in 1961, he went on to earn his MSc in Agricultural Economics at the University of Connecticut in 1964. Once again, he was encouraged to continue his education, and in 1967, Bill received his PhD at the University of California Berkley in Agricultural Economics (Natural Resource Economics) and spent an additional year there doing post-doctoral research. During his years of study, Bill’s daughter Katherine was born in Montreal, daughter Robin in Connecticut; and youngest daughter Sylvia was born in Edmonton.
In 1968, Bill returned to Canada as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Rural Economy at the University of Alberta. He became a full professor in 1976. Until his retirement in 1995, he served on many departmental, faculty, and university committees and held numerous professional offices and memberships including serving as Department Chair from 1987 to 1992. But his first love was teaching courses in natural resource economics, forest economics, economics of outdoor recreation, statistics, and econometrics. Bill particularly enjoyed guiding graduate students and, during his 27 years at the University of Alberta, served as advisor to over 40 MSc and PhD students and mentor to many more graduate and undergraduate students.
Bill was proud of his family and took great pleasure in the many accomplishments of his children, grandchildren, stepchildren and step-grandchildren. Visits with his daughters and granddaughters in Alberta, Ontario, PEI and British Columbia were among the highlights of his life.
Bill loved music, particularly jazz, and in his early years in Edmonton played piano with Harry Pinchin’s Cosmopolitan Music Society. His family and friends often enjoyed listening to him play the piano. For years, he gathered regularly with a number of friends to play jazz, and he attended and volunteered at Edmonton’s Jazz Festival. He had a large collection of jazz recordings.
Bill, with skills learned from his father, did major renovations to their old farmhouse in Andrew, Alberta. They spent many happy summers there and, following his retirement, Bill and Evelyn lived at the farm until their move to Nanaimo in 2002. During these years, they enjoyed camping and travelling and spending more time with family in Eastern Canada and the US.
Bill loved a good party, and he and Evelyn entertained frequently at their home in Edmonton and at their Andrew farm. Their annual farm party, with up to 100 people attending for the weekend, was legendary. Bill was so fortunate to have students and colleagues from all over the country and world, and he and Evelyn enjoyed spending time with them and their families. His life was enriched by his travels to Thailand and Zimbabwe, where he was fortunate enough to be involved in research projects.
After Bill’s move to Nanaimo, in addition to travelling and enjoying and cataloging his jazz collection, he became very interested in genealogy and spent many happy hours researching his family lineage. Because several generations of his family were born and raised on Prince Edward Island, and he still had relatives living there, he was able to create a family tree with over fifteen thousand relatives going back 50 generations.
Bill endured many health issues in the last 20 years of his life, including two bouts of colon cancer, and he met these challenges with determination and grace. After his dementia diagnosis in 2021, in hopes of helping reduce the stigma associated with dementia, he chose to be very open about his cognitive challenges. Throughout Bill’s long illness, he never lost his kind and loving personality, or his wry sense of humour. Caring for him was an honour for his family and for the many professionals who assisted in his home care.
Bill was a strong but gentle and compassionate man, whose kindness and joyful presence drew people to him. He rarely met someone he didn’t like, had a smile as big as all outdoors, and an infectious laugh.
An opportunity to gather and celebrate his life will be held at:
The Grand Hotel – 4898 Rutherford Rd, Nanaimo BC V9T 5H1 at 2:00 P.M.
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November 1 1938 August 9 2023 84 Years Old
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de William Emerson Phillips November 1 1938 August 9 2023 84 Years Old..
Telford, Toneff and Boyd Burial and Cremation Centres
Décès pour la Ville: Nanaimo, Province: Colombie britanique
avis deces William Emerson Phillips November 1 1938 August 9 2023 84 Years Old
necrologie William Emerson Phillips November 1 1938 August 9 2023 84 Years Old
Nous offrons nos plus sincères condoléances à la famille et aux amis de William Emerson Phillips November 1 1938 August 9 2023 84 Years Old et espérons que leur mémoire pourra être une source de réconfort pendant cette période difficile. Vos pensées et vos mots aimables sont grandement appréciés.