February 20, 1933 – April 13, 2012
It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden, but peaceful passing of our dear Dad. Bill was born & raised in Kelowna.
He met Sybil there in 1951 & they were married in Vancouver in 1958. They moved to Terrace from Vancouver in 1963 to continue his trade as a Dental Technician. He opened Terrace Dental Lab & continued to “go to the office” for the rest of his life. He volunteered as a firefighter from 1964-1991 & worked as a paid staff of the Terrace Fire Department from June 1969 until he retired in June 1988. He also tended ambulance & participated in first aid competitions during that time. Being part of the fire hall community meant so much to him, he really enjoyed everything about it & all the friends he made.
Early years in Terrace were spent camping, fishing, gardening, exploring back roads hunting grouse & other typical Terrace adventures. He was a proud Dad & all of his life he was active in our lives, supporting our activities & he was welcoming to all of our friends. After they retired, he & Sybil did some travelling which they both enjoyed very much. On the list was a cruise of the Panama Canal, which was a dream of Dad’s. He was also a proud “Terraceite” & volunteered much of his time: coaching hockey, driving, delivering meals on wheels, volunteer bureau, music festival, playing Santa (with big eyebrows), etc. He enjoyed square dancing, curling, playing cards/crib, word puzzles & keno.
He is survived by his beloved wife Sybil, his Brother in Law Ted & Cathy Rabone of Surrey, Brothers: Joe Benzer of Merritt, Ernie & Kaye Benzer of Kelowna, Art & Gail Benzer of Montrose, his much loved Children: Carla & Don McColl, Nancy & Ron Ross, Russell & Beth Benzer & his cherished Grandchildren: Andrew, Kenny (& Lenay) & Eric McColl, Brianna (& Tiger), Nadia & Marlee Benzer. He also has 11 nieces/nephews & their families who were very dear to him. He was always SO proud of his Grandkids & spent many years following all of their activities.
His door was open to all visitors, any age, neighbours, friends, anyone. He always had a cheerful “hi-ya” greeting for everyone. He loved being happy & having fun & seeing others having fun meant everything to him. He had a really great sense of humour, even on a crabby day you could make him laugh.
To honour & respect his wishes, no service will be held. A family celebration of life will be held at a later date. Please feel free to celebrate his life how you wish, he would really like that, & so would we. He was blessed with so many great friends & he very much valued & treasured ALL of them. There are many, many happy memories. We would like to sincerely thank all of his friends & our family & friends & co workers & those in the community who have helped & supported us through this difficult time, we are truly humbled & appreciative. He was loved, & we are comforted in knowing that, Thank you. We know he will be greatly missed & fondly remembered by so many.
For those interested, donations in his memory can be made to:
R.E.M. Lee Hospital Foundation, Box 1067, Terrace BC V8G 4V1
...or Terrace Happy Gang Centre, payable to: BC Old Age Pensioners - Branch 73 Terrace, 3226 Kalum St, Terrace BC V8G 2N1
...or another local community charity or cause of your choice