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William “Bill” Halfyard Obituary
It is with profound sadness and broken hearts that we share the passing of our beloved father, William (Bill) Harvey Halfyard, who left us on June 18th, 2024 at the age of 83. Surrounded by his loving and cherished wife Genevieve of 56 years and his devoted and loving children, Karen, Billy and Sheri. He was a man of immense love, kindness, humor, wit, and wisdom, cherishing every moment spent with his loved ones, family and friends. He was a gentle man with the biggest, softest heart, and full of life and laughter.
Bill was predeceased by his parents, William and Norma (Small) Halfyard; his grandparents Harvey and Gladys Small and William and Mary Halfyard; his mother and father-in-law Gerald and Shiela Connolly; his granddaughter Ella Grace; his brother-in-law Gerry Connolly; his special Aunts Janet Warf, Phyllis Hiscock (Dougie); Shirley Faye; and his uncle Len and Noel.
Leaving to mourn, with countless memories of a life full of love, laughter, happiness, and achievements too numerous to list, the love of his life for 62 years, Genevieve (Connolly); his oldest daughter Karen Fry (David); his favourite son Billy (Daniela, the best DIL); and his baby girl Sheri Dilny (Steve); his 6 grandchildren who were his pride and joy and light of his life: Genevieve, Devin, Jack, Emily, Sarah (his muffin), and Spencer (his little man) – he will always be their Papa.
Also leaving to mourn his younger brother Paul (Joanne) and nephew Stephen; his sister-in-law Mary Wilson (John) and special niece Rebecca; his special cousin Tammy Mulrooney (Brian) and Anna; his brothers and sisters’-in-law Dave and Mary (Morris) Connolly who were two of his closest friends, Derm and Vivian Connolly, and Mary (Whelan) Connolly; his cousins Lisa Faye, Margaret Holloway and Linda Halfyard-Greene; and many other loved nieces, nephews and cousins. Special friends Len Simms, Pat and Janet Hearn, Greg and Kathy Taylor, Ozzie MacKinnon, Derm and Dianne Flynn, Doug Ring, as well as many extended family and circles of friends including his Kinsmen and golfing friends from PEI and his PWC breakfast buddies.
As a child, Bill spent his summers in Ocean Pond with the Halfyard and Small families where he loved to swim, fish, play cowboy games, and get into mischief. Ocean Pond was always a special place for him – the stories he could tell were endless. He was a proud Collegiate graduate and looked forward to his monthly breakfasts with boys from school.
He started his career as a fire fighter, but with his soft heart, firefighting was not in the cards long-term. He moved to the world of banking which took him to PEI for some of the best years of his life. He retired his professional career as a Bank Manager, and in his retirement years, he worked on the golf course as a Starter – one of his favourite activities and places to be. Bill and Gen had the opportunity to snowbird to Florida often and they loved travelling to new places, especially if it was to travel to visit with friends and family or to find a new golf course to play.
Bill was involved in community and various sport organizations as a builder for many years with many notable achievements. Bill held numerous executive positions with the Kinsmen Association including Governor of Atlantic Canada. Bill’s days as a sports builder started in 1969 when he travelled as Team Manager with the St. Pat’s baseball team representing NL at the first Canada Games in Halifax. Bill was a hockey coach and on the Executive of MQP school; he served on the executive of Baseball NL for 9 years with 6 years elected as President; he served as President of Baseball Canada for 4 years with the opportunity to many places around the world and meet many worldwide figures and sports celebrities – Fidel Castro, Daniel Ortega, Mickey Mantle, Willy Mays, Whitey Ford, Duke Snider, and Fergie Jenkins to name just a few; Bill served as Eastern Director and President of Sports NL in the early 90s; and in 1992, he was proud to be inducted into the NL Baseball Hall of Fame.
Bill had the softest heart, the wittiest jokes, the hardiest laughter, and the best hugs! He was a big teddy bear, a cowboy, an Archie Bunker at times, but he was always there with a good joke and laugh. He absolutely lit up the room with his charming personality and fun “trouble-making ways”. He knew more riddles and sayings than most and could sing you any jingle from the 50s onward. If you knew Bill, you could not help but to love him. His laugh was contagious, and his love of life was beyond any others. The Halfyard house always had an open door as Bill and Gen’s giving and open nature was shown not only to their own family and friends, but their children and grandchildren’s friends who also adored him.
Above all, he was a devoted husband who adored his beautiful wife, Genevieve. They had an unconditional love that not many people will ever find. They instilled this love in their 3 children who are their world and their 6 grandchildren who are their universe.
To our amazing Dad, our hero, we want to say thank you. Thank you for always being there for us, for your guidance, your support, your unwavering love, and your infectious laughter, sarcasm and wit. We can never put into words how much you mean to us, but we know you felt this, especially in your final days.
A special thank you to his GP, Dr Lori Shandera, for her care; the expertise and compassion from his Dr Gokul Vidyasanker and Dr Paul Bissonnette; along with the dedication and persistence of Nurse Melissa Flynn in his final days. Thank you to Barrett’s Funeral Home for the support and guidance and to Reverend Pamela Jones.
Donations to the Canadian Association for Glycogen Storage Disease (www.canadiangsd.org) or The Children’s Fund for Glycogen Storage Disease Research (www.curegsd.org), in honour of Bill’s grandson – his little man Spencer Dilny, is gratefully accepted.
Visitation will be held on Friday, June 21st 2024 from 1:00pm-4:00pm and 6:00pm-9:00pm at Barrett’s Funeral Home, Hamilton Avenue. Memorial service will take place on Saturday, June 22nd 2024 at 11:00am from the Gower Street United Church, St. John’s. The service will be livestreamed for those unable to attend in person and the link can be found below.
Internment will take place after the service at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, St. John’s.
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2024
Death notice for the town of: St-John’s, Province: T-N
death notice William Bill Halfyard 2024
obituaries notice William Bill Halfyard 2024
We offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of William Bill Halfyard 2024 and hope that their memory may be a source of comfort during this difficult time. Your thoughts and kind words are greatly appreciated.
