Nov. 27, 1921 – Jan. 16, 2023 Walkerton Ontario Bill was born in Bristol Quebec to Myrtle Gwendolyn Dumas (Shepherd) and Louis Dumas. At a young age Bill and his siblings were separated and put into foster care. Growing up Bill worked at various farm hand jobs until he found his way to Ontario where he married Elsie and worked as a firefighter in Waterloo for a short period. Making his home in various places such Elliott Lake, Blind River and Spanish working in the mines before he married Ella in 1965 and moved back to Fergus where he worked for most downtown businesses such as Mary Thompson’s funeral home, Black and White, Triangle Discount and Broderick’s. He was very well known for the man to contact if you needed your snow shovelled or a building torn down. In 1976 Bill and his family set out to build their own home on South Street in Elora. Evenings and weekends were spent building brick by brick from scraps and take aways that he could salvage from previous tear downs. He continued to do odd jobs while also working for Don Stumpf and Jim Keating in construction for many years. After a devastating fire in March 1993, Bill and his wife Ella (deceased in 2011) retired to Walkerton Ont. where he remarried Florence and celebrated his 100th birthday with his family and friends from near and far. Bill was a private in WW2 and a proud member of the Elora Legion Br 229. He had a great passion for working with his hands building birdhouses and helping others as well as hunting, fishing and camping. An amazing proud moment for him was when he was reunited with all of his siblings at his daughter’s wedding in 1992. (After a fire in Quebec where records were kept it was difficult to find siblings). Many friends in the community will remember him as a hard worker with a friendly smile, a great sense of humour with a free spirit. Cherished family memories of his include many miles travelled north, without ever following a map, our proud home where we spent many evenings on the dance floor in our basement, his talent for decorating at Christmas, endless card parties and numerous celebrations held with friends and extended families. He left us with the ability to remember friends he met throughout his life and stories of the past with his amazing memory at 101 years of age. A Celebration of Life will be held at the Elora Legion, 110 Metcalfe St, Elora on Sunday, January 29, 2023 from 12:00pm- 2:00pm. Memorial donations may be made to the Diabetes Association.
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