It is with great sorrow that we announce the death of our father Joseph Wilfred (Wilf) Fournier. Wilf passed peacefully on Dec 2nd, twenty one days after his 98th birthday. He is survived and missed by his children Leslie, Jim (Luci) Kathryn and Mary Louise, brother Art and sisters Peggy and Trudi and many nieces and nephews He was grandfather to Melanie, Jamesie, Zebede, Gabrielle, Phillippe, Jesse, Jessica, Nicki, Paul and Jada and great-grandfather to Kylie. Sadly he was predeceased by son Alan and grandson Danny. The love of his life, Edith (Sandy) died last year after more than 71yrs of marriage. A stronger, more admired or more loving union could not be found. Dad was born in Elk Lake, Ontario Nov 11, 1924, the sixth of twelve children born to Louis and Irma Fournier. As with many his age he grew up quickly with the start of WWII. The war ended just as he finished flight training in the RCAF then his sister introduced him to our mother (they both worked in a bullet factory) and Mom and Dad married in 1950. Over the next 30 years they raised 5 kids, lived in 3 provinces and 2 territories and finally settled down in retirement in Enderby BC. They built a lovely house there and it was a great collection point for all the family which by then was spread out across the country. Wilf started out working as an oiler on a steam shovel. Fifteen years later he was managing a road construction company when an opportunity to train heavy equipment operators was made available to him and he had found his calling. He found nothing more fulfilling than helping people succeed and the rest of his working life was spent, in one way or another, training men to build roads. Wilf was a first-rate mechanic and rescued old cars, lawnmowers and snowmobiles. He built his own travel trailer and toured the country, never missing a chance to tell you how nice it towed. Although he had not flown since the end of the war, he obtained his private pilot’s license while living in Fort Simpson, NWT because he had never lost his love of flying. A memorable flight with daughter, Leslie, was from Simpson over two mountain ranges to Homer Alaska. He had an antique firetruck he drove in parades and the odd late-night cruise. Wilf was the one of the first people to own a personal computer; he wanted a faster way of doing the Seniors’ Society books and he thought the Radio Shack Tandy was just the ticket. In the kids’ youth (before television), he would entertain us singing very sad songs in French and English and reduce us all to tears. Dad lived in parts of eleven decades, through good times and bad, with his love for his family and his faith unshaken. The Anglican Church was his beacon and he has left a small part of him in all the Anglican Churches in the towns where they lived. Wilf was an unstoppable volunteer and his senior years were filled with doing what he could to improve the lot of others. We were so blessed to have him in our lives for so many good years. We would like to thank the staff of Heritage House for their care and concern for our parents in these last few years. We could not have asked for better help through the challenging times of the Covid pandemic and our parents’ decline due to extreme old age. A Memorial service at St. George’s Anglican church in Enderby will be announced shortly.
We offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Wilf Fournier December 2nd 2022 and hope that their memory may be a source of comfort during this difficult time. Your thoughts and kind words are greatly appreciated.
Death notice for the town of: Armstrong, Province: Colombie britanique