GERALD WILLIAM (BILL) DEVLIN

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GERALD WILLIAM (BILL) DEVLIN

It is with great sadness the family of Gerald William (Bill) Devlin announces his passing on May 1, 2020, at the age of 83.
Cremation has taken place and burial will be held at a later date.
He was predeceased by his loving wife Cecile; daughter Marie (at birth); his parents, Dan and Eva; brother Dan; and sister Evelyn.
Left to cherish his memory are his sons, Wes, Arnie (Carrie), Wayne and Karl; and his sisters, Hilda, Jocelyn, Lorraine and Elsie.
Bill was raised is St. Laurent, MB. He left home in his early teens to pursue his work life which included working in the city, an assignment on the DEW line, coal mining and a 40 plus year career as a cement mixer driver with LaFarge (Supercrete).
He raised his family with his loving wife Cecile in Transcona. He worked long hours to provide for his family. Rumour has it that, on occasion, after a long day's work, he would get home late in the evening once everyone was asleep, devour an entire pie that Cecile had made fresh earlier in the day and then he'd be gone back to work again before anyone was awake. He was the definition of work ethic. He and Cecile must have done something right, passing that ethic on to the four boys who all went on to be successful. That strong work ethic has even been passed on to their grandchildren. Although he worked long hours, Dad made sure we had what we needed and had the opportunity to play sports including hockey, baseball and football. He was always there to watch us play, tying up our skates and warming up our feet between periods. His avid enthusiasm for kids sports continued with the grandchildren. He would even be called upon to sing the national anthem before the grandchildren would play hockey in the basement!
Bill was always a loving, generous person and a bit of a practical joker. His mischievous ways and love for debate always made for good conversation. He knew how to make people laugh and we're pretty sure he had a fun nickname for just about everyone. Although at times he could come across as being pretty serious, if you had the good fortune of really getting to know him, he had a good sense of humour and a really big heart.
He loved his grandchildren (Daniel, Celina, Alyssa, Colin, Thomas, Julia, Paityn, Daimin, Emily, Brenin) and lived to see them. He was looking forward to becoming a great-grandpa in the coming months. We know he would really have enjoyed that. Grandpa would always have some treats, words of wisdom and some sort of trickery ready for the grandchildren and neighbourhood kids when they visited.
We would like to extend a big thank you to those who made special bonds with Dad, in particular after Mom passed... his special neighbours and homecare workers at Devonshire Place.
Dad was very saddened when Mom left us and always said he wanted to be with her. He died on what would have been their 61st wedding anniversary. We believe that Mom called him to join her on this special day.

Mom, Dad, may you enjoy
a happy eternal life together.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on May 09, 2020