William Bourne was born William Borisenko on August 16, 1927 on the family homestead near Rabbit Lake Saskatchewan. He was the twelfth of sixteen children born to Paul and Pauline Borisenko.
“Willie” as he was known to his family, exhibited traits of being a real “ball of fire” from the start. He attended Co-operation school until the 8th grade. Mostly he worked on the farm and was known as a hard worker, a trait which continued with him for life. In 1945 he moved to Penticton BC with his family. He met his future wife, Rena Hayter, at the First Baptist Church in Penticton with a little help from his brother Ed. They were married on May 28, 1948. Together they had four children.
Willie served in the RCAF from 1951-1956 in Canada and France with a short stint in S. Africa. On his return Willie and Rena agreed to change their last name to Bourne. The cold war was in full swing and their first child was entering school. They also thought it would be better in business. After returning Willie worked for the CPR for a short while. He then went to work in construction for his brother-in-law Cecil Hayter.
He enjoyed construction and decided to go into contracting himself. He started out roofing; but with his photographic memory he was able to get master tickets in several trades. Eventually he became a general contractor building two family homes, a warehouse and two four unit apartment buildings in Penticton. The construction business is very up and down and soon Willie was forced to go north for work, building projects in Quesnel and Chetwynd.
With the decline in the economy, Willie and Rena decided to emigrate to the USA. With the three boys they moved to Pullman WA in January 1967. Karen so close to finishing high school, moved back in with her grandmother Hayter. Willie built two apartment complexes in Pullman but because Kevin and Dave both had severe asthma; they decided to move yet again. This time further south to Tucson AZ where the climate was drier. They moved in 1969 and once again Willie went into construction. He
built a state of the art family home with a pool and was in the midst of building a thirty six unit apartment complex when he had a tragic accident that would dramatically change the entire family’s life.
We all agreed dad was never the same after that. Although Rena and Willie divorced, neither of them ever remarried and always kept in touch with each other. In 1975 Willie returned to Canada and in 1992 he moved to Vancouver Island because he had so many siblings there. Sadly, his health continued to decline and in June 1994 he moved into Arrowsmith Lodge in Parksville where he passed away February 6, 2018 at the age of 90.
Willie is survived by his four children: Karen Wiltse, Kevin (Diane), Timothy (Darylann) and David (Mary); ten grandchildren and sixteen great grandchildren. He is also survived by three brothers, five sisters, and numerous nieces and nephews. Willie was predeceased by his parents Paul and Pauline Borisenko, brother Peter, and sisters Kay, Anne, Mary, Lillian, Nancy and Dorothy.
A Celebration of the Life of William Bourne will be held at 1:00 pm on Saturday, March 10, 2018 at the Legion Hall in
Qualicum Beach BC..
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of William BOURNE August 16 1927 February 6 2018 (age 90).source
Death notice for the town of: Parksville, Province: Colombie britanique