W. A. MILTON

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W. A. (BILL) MILTON 1936 - 2016 Bill, born on May 18, 1936, was the son of Dorothy and Robert F. Milton - pioneers in Flin Flon's early days, the 1930s. Bill, his sister Diane and brothers Pete, Joe and Abby were raised first in Flin Flon's frontier surroundings, located among rocks and trees at the end of the railway. When the Second World War came along, Bill's father enlisted in the R.C.A.F., so that for a few years Dorothy and family moved to Surrey, NB to live with an uncle in the country. At the end of the war they returned to Flin Flon to a house in Willowvale. Bill loved to tell stories of his growing up in Flin Flon, of authentic people like Baldy McLenon, his scout master and principal, and Archie Tom, his favourite teacher. He regaled listeners with tales of the fun he and his "gang", including his best friend Ron Marsh, had at Little Cliff Lake, and his financially rewarding pool-playing in the back room of Johnny's Confectionary. Among Bill's favourite memories were the times after graduating from high school. To raise money for university, he worked for Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting in the zinc plant, and later, on the railway track spiking with a bull gang. He especially enjoyed the months he spent in the bush north of Flin Flon, working as a hooper for Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting's geological team. He lived in a tent winter and summer with a gang of men flown in and out of camp on Beaver or Otter bush planes equipped with either skiis or pontoons. He tramped miles in the bush on snowshoes, or in summer went around lakes in canoes. Although Bill left Flin Flon for university and a career in teaching, he never really left Flin Flon in his heart and imagination the rest of his life. His mother, and Manitoba School Trustee, Dorothy, directed Bill toward his future career by helping him get a job as a permit teacher at Reston in 1960, where the following year, at 23, he became principal for a year. In between working towards his B.A. degree, he taught at Carman and later in Schefferville, PQ before completing his degree. Bill next became a teacher in Winnipeg School Division #1 in 1967, beginning at Grant Park High School. Here he met his wife, Lynnette, who shared his life, his love and his interests for the rest of his life. Until his retirement in 1992, Bill taught in a number of Winnipeg schools. If ever there was a confluence of career and interests it happened with Bill. Throughout his life, he had a passion for words and learning, which it was his great pleasure to share with his lucky students, as well as with Lynnette and friends. He also was delighted at a chance to express his ideas about education in a series of articles he wrote for the Winnipeg Tribune in the 1970s. His intellectual energy and curiosity ranged from the liberal arts, through science to any quirky subjects that intrigued him. His favourite sport was night-long discussions about life and ideas with his friends. Bill enjoyed travel to Europe and throughout North America on numerous holidays with his wife, for many years. However, he greatly loved travel in the "realms of gold" of his ever increasing library, or sitting in his chair with a book in one hand and a coffee in the other. Even at 80 his wry sense of humour never failed to reveal itself. In fact the epitaph he wrote for himself is evidence enough: "Human to humus, Useful at last." Bill lived his life with humour, honour and courage. He passed away peacefully, at home, on December 16, 2016. Bill will be remembered by his friends, his brothers, his brother-in-law Kevin Lusk, sister-in-law Erika, and many nieces and nephews. He will be remembered with love and gratitude for his life, by his sister Diane, and his wife Lynnette: "...glad to have sat under Thunder and rain with you, And grateful too For sunlight in the garden." - Louis MacNeice

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jan 07, 2017