William “Bill” Pidlubny passed away suddenly at his home in Calgary, Alta. on Sunday, March 1, 2015 at the age of 65.
Bill will be forever remembered by his son, Ryan (Jaimie) and grandson, Leeland; son, Kyle (Jennifer), granddaughter, Shiloh, and grandson, Sawyer; and son, Kurtis (Audrey) and her son, Andrew.
Bill also will be missed by his sister, Cathy Emes and her daughters, Deborah and Kimberly (Paul); brother, Ron (Pearl) and their sons, Clint (Jacqueline) and Clifford; sister, Donna Pidlubny and her daughters, Adrienne (Ken) and Samantha; and brother, Greg, and his daughter, Erin.
Bill was predeceased by his mother, Dixie, and brother-in-law, George Emes.
Bill was born May 2, 1949 in Fort Frances, Ont. He spent his early years in Stratton, Ont., where his parents operated the Stratton Hotel. The family then moved to California for a short while and this was all before he started school.
He then moved back to Fort Frances and made this his permanent home, growing up in the west end of town. This is where he married Kathy Rowland and raised their three boys.
Bill started his working career early with Rostie’s Bakery, then with the section gang for the CNR. He also worked in the rental business and as an ambulance attendant.
Following that, he found his passion for sales at Green’s Furniture. He also worked a short time with Avco Finance while preparing to open Sight & Sound with his partner, Jim Jackson.
After many years at Sight & Sound, he moved on to Macleods, Mutual Life Insurance Company, Gringos Restaurant, even some car flipping with B.A.D. Company (Bill, Al, and Don), and then True Value.
Bill was born to be an entrepreneur. Time came for another big change, so he packed up and moved to Red Deer, Alta., where he worked sales at the Brick for a few years until he moved a little closer to his three sons in Calgary and worked at Surplus Furniture and Crossroads Furniture.
He was very active in the Kinsmen Club of Fort Frances; one of his favourite projects was bringing big-name entertainment to town.
Fishing was probably his favourite thing to do, but he also was happy just being out on the lake even if the fish were not biting. He loved to be outdoors and took great pride in his gardens and yard.
Bill always was easy to talk to; a very easy-going man. He enjoyed spending time with family and friends. He loved to laugh and if you had 20 minutes to listen to a two-minute joke, he could make you laugh, too.
We can look at his life and see he had a strong desire for progress, change, challenges, and goals. Not everything he did ended with success, but he enjoyed all the different things he did.
We can see how he took some risks to define his life and have so much experience, staying strong, keeping life interesting, and taking the next step without fear.
A service celebrating Bill’s life is being planned for a later date.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
