William Walter Tupper
1933-2021
A great Nova Scotian and Annapolis Valley elder has passed
away. Bill Tupper was a loving husband, a loyal brother, a dedicated
father, and a stalwart community member. A long-standing member of
Centerville Baptist Church, Bill was a man of unshakeable faith, a
beacon and role model to all who knew him.
The son of the late Gertrude Frail and Elmer Tupper of Scots
Bay, Bill was born in Canning, and grew up in the community of Scots
Bay, where he was as familiar and beloved as Cape Blomidon. His
talents were both practical and creative; as a young man he developed
valuable skills as a sewing machine technician, eventually becoming
well-enough known as an expert repairman and collector that, until his
final illness, people brought their sewing machines to him from
communities throughout Nova Scotia. A versatile musician, Bill made
his own instruments, became a self-taught guitarist and fiddler in the
Maritime tradition, and eventually held the position of Inaugural
President and lifetime member of the Kings’ Fiddlers. In
addition to these uncommon gifts, Bill was a great storyteller, as
well as a repository of local knowledge, and a competent artist who
captured many historically-valuable scenes of vanished Valley ways of
life in his drawings, paintings, and vibrant rug hookings in the
‘Primitive’ style. Impressive as these gifts were,
it is Bill’s generosity, his support for those in need, his
talent as a father, and his great heart, that are perhaps best
remembered. As an old friend of his once said, “They
don’t make ‘em like that
anymore.”
Bill is survived by his wife, Olive Goodwin Tupper and her
children, Diane, Jeff and Judith, as well as by his daughter, Sheila
(partner of Wally, Coldbrook N.S.); sons, Brian (husband of Heather,
Rothesay, NB), Robert (husband of Belinda, Scots Bay, NS), Alan
(husband of Junie), Gerald Vidito (husband of Darlene, Port George,
NS); sister-in-law, Althea (Scots Bay, NS); grandchildren, Ian, Jodi,
Chad, Melinda, Robert, Travis, Kristin, Tamara, Connor, Carson,
step-grandchildren Zac, Jacob, and Ally; eleven great grandchildren,
and his beloved feline companion, Callie.
Bill is predeceased by his first wife, Winnie Caldwell, as
well his by brothers, Weldon and Donald, and his sister, Elma, in
infancy.
Due to Covid-19 pandemic and travel restrictions, a private
service for Bill will be held in the White Family Funeral Home,
Kentville on Tuesday, August 10, with Reverend Jeff Milne, Reverend
Doctor Steve B. Hopper, and Reverend Doctor Judith Saunders
officiating. A video webcast of the service will be available at 5:00
p.m. on Tuesday, August 10, 2021. Donations may made to Valley Hospice
or the Centerville Baptist Church.
Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the White Family
Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Kentville. On-line condolences
and inquiries may be directed to
www.whitefamilyfuneralhome.com.
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of William Walter Tupper 19332021..
Death notice for the town of: Kentville, Province: Nova Scotia