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WILLIAM (BILL) JOHN NICHOLS
Born: Apr 29, 1952
Date of Passing: Mar 17, 2020
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WILLIAM (BILL) JOHN NICHOLS
April 29, 1952- March 17, 2020
He will be sadly missed by the love of his life, Val; children, Charla, Christy and Curtis (Kat), stepchildren, Marnie (Lino) and David (Tara), his grandchildren, Matthew, Katie, Ashley, Cherine, Alice, Bella, Austin, Noah, Alex, Lexi and Layla, who meant everything to him. Also left to cherish his memory are his brothers, Greg, Gary, Eddie (Tracey), Mark (Shannon), and sister Carol (Paul), nieces, nephews, cousins and so many great friends. He was predeceased by his parents, Eileen and John, and his son-in-law Dave.
Dad was born on April 29, 1952, in Winnipeg, Manitoba on the hottest day on record to date. As we celebrated his birthday every year, he would turn on the weather channel and make sure we saw it as it came up on the screen. Grandma would always remind him of that day in a hospital with no air conditioning.
He grew up in West Kildonan and attended Governor Semple, Edmond Partridge and Garden City Collegiate. After high school he decided to follow his father's footsteps to become a plumber. And a fine plumber he was. He was very well respected and great mentor to many in the field. He was a Journeyman plumber, gas fitter, oil fitter, steam fitter, and had his premise back flow license, plumbing contractors license and many other certifications. We were always told by many that he was a genius working with boilers. He received his A-ticket at a very young age which is very tough to achieve. He was a very smart man who had that old school way of work ethic and had the utmost pride and dedication for his work.
He had a tough exterior but a heart of gold and would help anyone in need, and would drop anything to help someone.
Family, hockey and work was his life. He loved spending time with family. His favourite sport was hockey, you would always find Dad watching some sort of hockey game on TV. He especially loved watching his grandchildren play, he never missed a game. We know you will always be standing in front of the glass in your special spot, in spirit, cheering them on.
We would like to thank the Winnipeg Police, Fire and Paramedics for their compassion and kind hearts during our difficult time; and to Reverend Dominic Yuen for blessing Dad.
Following Dad's wishes, no funeral service will be held.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Manitoba.
R.I.P. Dad / Grandpa. You will be greatly missed and we love you so much.
As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Mar 28, 2020
Condolences & Memories (11 entries)
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Grade1-6 going to each other’s birthday parties. We drove our mothers crazy. Heh mom Billy said make sure you have egg salad sandwich's and Jeanies cake. Playing football at Governor Semple school yard until it got too dark to see the ball. We were crummy baseball players, Kiwanis little league just reinforced that. Many good memories, saw you not often enough as we got older. Rest In Peace Billy your remembered by this old friend. - Posted by: Rick Edmonds (Friend ) on: Apr 03, 2020
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I love you so much dad and can’t imagine not seeing you or getting random emails from you about how proud of me you are, or how cherine is “going places” in her hockey career. You inspired cherine at a young age (5 years old) to love the game of hockey and were at every game cheering her on in your coaches corner. As you always told her before a game “keep dialing it up sweetheart”. And no matter what, you never judged me and ALWAYS stood by my side through the bad and the good. You never judged me. Thank you so much for everything. I will never forget. I love you. I’ll Always miss you. Love always-Your daughter Christy ❤️❤️ - Posted by: Christy Nichols (Daughter ) on: Mar 31, 2020
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We are so sorry for your loss. RIP - Posted by: Darryl and Kim Halipchuk (Co-worker) on: Mar 30, 2020
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Bill was my go to when I couldn't figure out how to fix a boiler or find a part. He was a great mentor. I'm very sorry to hear he has passed. - Posted by: Kevin Murray (Friend) on: Mar 29, 2020
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So sorry to hear about Bill's passing. He was one of the great ones. I was fortunate enough to have worked with him and got to know him as a friend. You'll be deeply missed. Our deepest sympathy to Val and the whole family. - Posted by: Danny&Nancy Desrosiers (Friend and Co-worker ) on: Mar 28, 2020
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Bill Nichols Will be missed deeply by the trades and all who were lucky enough to have known him. I was fortunate to have met him on both levels, he was always very respectful to opinions and always treated me as an equal even tho my A license was much higher then his and could dance circles around me with his knowledge but always treated me as an equal. I know I will miss him and the laughs shared on sites with him and laughing about how I started to feel long in the tooth about my A ticket and with his smile he would laugh at me and say “your long in the tooth?” Family was always the foremost in his conversations with me and his love of his friends, and coworkers of whom he has met. He will be deeply missed and in my opinion one of the best. - Posted by: Jason Reuther (Friend-Co-Worker) on: Mar 28, 2020
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As I conveyed to Val I feel very fortunate to have been a small part of Bills life and mingle with his family and extended family. Raised in WK went to school with and worked with the Nichols boys. When I took on the task of building a home in West St.Paul. I asked Bill for advice. Well he did not give me any instead he rolled up his sleeves and went at it plumbing the whole place. He would not take money. I feel a huge debt of gratitude. We lost a nice guy. RIP - Posted by: Terry Lillies (Friend) on: Mar 28, 2020
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Bill was a hard man to get to know at the beginning. He was a marshmallow inside and loved his family and grandchildren so much. He took time to get to know you and when he accepted you he stood by you at all times. He was always offering a helping hand. He was a great person and will be missed by everyone especially the love of his life Val. Our love and condolences to everyone. - Posted by: Jim and Linda (Brother in law ) on: Mar 28, 2020
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We were so very sorry to hear of Bill’s passing. He was a great friend and co-worker. He was always willing to lend a hand whether it was helping at work or coming out to our home. He will be greatly missed. Our deepest sympathy to Val and all the family. - Posted by: Gabby & Shelley Desrosiers (Friends) on: Mar 28, 2020
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Sorry to hear of Bill’s passing. Our condolences to his family. Rest In Peace Bill - Posted by: Barbara Magalas (Cousin ) on: Mar 28, 2020
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Sorry to hear about Bill. A true craftsman in his trade. RIP old friend. - Posted by: Rik Zatonski (Friend) on: Mar 28, 2020