WASYL (WILLIAM/BILL) KIEDYK
December 29, 1934 – September 28, 2024
Wasyl (William/Bill) Walter Kiedyk passed peacefully on Saturday, September 28, 2024 in London, Ontario, with loving family by his side. Dad was born December 29, 1934 in Fisher Branch, Manitoba to newly-immigrated Ukrainian parents Nicholas/Nykola and Mary (nee Sekor/Szykor) Kiedyk/Kykyk, the second youngest of eight children. He is survived by his sisters Emily and Jeanette. He is Grandpa Bill to Brandon Lee Kiedyk, Courtney Marie Kiedyk, Kieran Kiedyk Fraser and Braeden Sim Fraser. Billy’s childhood was centred around his father’s blacksmith shop and the harsh realities and strict upbringing of the times. He left home after grade 11 to earn money before attending grade 12 in Winnipeg. That summer he worked for E.J. Casey’s Shows, a source of many stories. After graduation, Dad intended to teach, but he accompanied a fellow student to his job interview at the Hudson’s Bay headquarters in Winnipeg and got the job without even applying! The advice that he received was to “go, have adventures! Teaching will be there when you get back.” Dad worked for four years in Ontario’s far north, generating many stories about his time at Big Beaver House, including how he met Augusta (Gussie) Mann Lee, who would become a cherished family member and Ed Bennett, who he often drove to B.C. to visit. He lived with ‘Aunt Gussie’ while attending Ryerson from 1958 – 1962. He was having such a good time that he failed a year! Dad was on Student Council with Jane Tilston of Manitowaning, Manitoulin Island, who later became his wife. Dad’s electronics training qualified him to update computer systems for Norad, meet Jim Rawn, another lifelong friend and the man who introduced him to Camp Conewango on Lake Talon. Mom and Dad eventually bought the camp and raised three children there, Heather Susan (Derek) Riedel, Lara Patricia Kiedyk and Andrew Robin Lee (Emily) Kiedyk. Their summer cottage resort soon grew into a year-round business with cross-country ski trails where the Canadian National Cross-Country Ski Team trained. He cleared land to build a tent and trailer park and constructed a 5 km road through the bush for a smoother journey to camp. Our Dad taught us to be capable, to learn, be responsible and to work hard. Valuable life lessons. Bill and Jane owned and operated Camp Conewango until 1986, dad’s longest job. Over the years, he worked at Algoma Steel in Sault Ste Marie, Widdifield and Chippewa high schools in North Bay (where he finally was a teacher!) and at Park Mall Apartments in Guelph as a property manager. Dad excelled in construction and ‘industry trouble shooting,’ priding himself in always knowing how to help. He was always ready to travel to help friends and family with their projects, including building homes for Bradley and Jeanette in Manitoba, Kevin in Muskoka, Norm in Parry Sound and Lara in Mt. Brydges. Bill was the man to call if you were moving, he could fill a U-haul so tight it looked vacuum packed! We refer to these later years of dad’s life as his Gypsy Years, living out of a series of converted vans. The baby blue one was hard to miss! When dad’s health began to decline, he moved from Grande Prairie, Alberta to London, Ontario to be closer to his two daughters. We were grateful for this time together and to be able to be by his side when he, at nearly 90, went on his next adventure. His wish was to donate his body to science, then be cremated, so he could finally be as warm as Robert Service’s Sam Magee. Dad’s parting message to us all was “Enjoy Life.”
