ROY EDWARD WILLIAMS

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ROY EDWARD WILLIAMS
July 8, 1927 - September 14, 2020

Enduring rapidly declining physical health but still as sharp as ever, Roy chose to die after a wonderful life of 93 years and 70 years of wedded bliss. He passed away at home, peacefully and painlessly, lovingly supported by his wife Lenore, son Chris (Linda Golding), and daughters, Cynthia (David McNicol), Andrea (Basil Webber) and Alison (Bruce Hanks).
Roy grew up in Winnipeg and attended the University of Manitoba where he completed a Commerce Honours Degree. He went to work at Great-West Life in 1950, living and working in Winnipeg, Chicago, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, retiring on June 20, 1988. Roy continued on with his financial planning career for many years. He was an Honorary Lifetime Member of the Vancouver Downtown Probus Club.
Roy was a gifted athlete. He was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame twice. He loved golfing...most of the time. Roy was an Olympian (Canadian basketball team, Helsinki 1952) and an orator (every Christmas, office party, family gathering, special occasion and wedding).
Roy was also an avid traveller, visiting 48 countries accompanied by Lenore and often life-long friends. He was an integral part of arranging Sigma Lambda Phi reunions.
Roy loved a good martini. Together with Lenore, they hosted many dinner parties which always ended in a sing-a-long. They had an open door policy. Over the 34 years they have resided in their present home, not only did family visits occur regularly, many of their grandkids and other relatives lived with them to work and/or go to school. Roy left his kids and their spouses, nine grandchildren (Jeremy, Sasha, Kimberly, Alanna, Meghan, Kaitlin, Kyla, Konrad and Koli) and partners, and his 15 great-grandchildren (16th great-grandchild due soon) with a legacy of unconditional love, honesty, hard work ethic, the desire for life-long learning, and the importance of family and friends. Every year, he remembered and marked every single one of those 40 family member's birthdays with a special handmade card and a direct deposit. Roy embraced the rapidly evolving technological world the same way he embraced a new golf club...a little tough to get used to it to begin with but well worth the effort.
Roy kept his spirit going until the very end, champion that he was, and he made it easier to say good-bye because he was so very ready to leave this world. His last words were singing "I See the Moon" to his loving family seated around him. What a gift to us. He left this world with his heart full of gratitude for his long and wonderful life. Our hearts are full of gratitude too.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Breast Cancer Society of Canada (bcsc.ca) or the North York General Hospital Breast Cancer Centre (foundation@nygh.on.ca).

There will be celebrations of the life of Roy, Dad, Afi, and Great-Afi everyday forever.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Sep 19, 2020