(1935-2021) His family is profoundly sad to announce his passing on Tuesday, October 5, 2021 after a brief illness. He was in his 87th year and took his final journey with family by his side. Married to Trudy (nee Hill) for 55 years, father to David (Luiza) [Rockwood], Kirk [Ottawa], Marie (Robert) [Nova Scotia]. Proud grandfather of Alexis, Brooke Mick (Darren), Chloe, Nicholas, Thomas, Sylvie and Simone. He was the son of the late Hugh and Ethel (nee Buckland), brother of Bob (Marg)[New Brunswick]. William, known to friends and customers as Bill, lived on the family farm in Eramosa Township his whole life. He engaged in numerous professions, including time as a teacher and truck driver for the Texaco Oil Company before establishing The Wellington Advertiser in 1968. WHA Publications Limited, his namesake, also publishes the North Wellington Community News. His vision of providing a newspaper free of charge to all residents of Wellington County continues to this day. He was a member of the Drayton Legion, Fergus Elora Rotary Club, Guelph’s Men Club and Trinity United Church in Guelph. In recent years, pre-pandemic, Tuesday was an important social day for him, hearing exceptional speakers in Guelph and sharing lunch times with his Rotary friends at Heritage River in Elora. Despite his own challenges with dementia he continued to impress upon others the value and necessity of trying to learn something new every day. He served as a councillor and ultimately Reeve of Eramosa Township for many years and in 1981 was elected warden of Wellington County. Significant projects undertaken during his years in office included water and sewer for Rockwood, improvements at Wellington Place, the county road 7 bridge over the Elora Gorge and the opening of the refurbished Wellington County Administration Centre, a cause he championed. Bill was a proud graduate of Ontario Agricultural College – OAC 59A – and continued those friendships the rest of his life. He was honoured to receive the Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. His greatest accomplishment, he would say, was his family, who have excelled in their chosen professions. He survived numerous health scares over the course of his life, including prostate cancer thirty years ago. Dementia was extremely frustrating for him, considering his ability as a younger man to recite the family tree of many long-standing families in Wellington County or give a compelling speech without notes. He never lost interest in meeting people. Around Easter of this year he was placed in the capable care of nurses and support workers at Caressant Care in Arthur. He took that journey with dignity and much like his life he treated those around him with great stories and jokes of times past. The family greatly appreciated the kindness and care granted to him during the past few months and treasured the opportunities to see him as pandemic protocols would allow. He will be interred at Rea Cemetery alongside his parents in a private family ceremony. A celebration of life will be held next spring at the farm, where friends and family can hopefully meet with a warm embrace and share fond memories of a life well lived.
