William (Bill) Herbert Loewen

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William (Bill) Herbert Loewen

The family of Bill Loewen is deeply saddened to announce his passing on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, at the Riverview Health Centre.

Bill was predeceased by his wife Shirley (née Perret) and leaves behind his children, Howard (Anne), Ann, Louise, Peter (Joanne) and Jennifer; his grandchildren, Zona (Casey), Emma (Jason), Ayda (Nikita), Miles, Hannah (Victor), Amy, Felicitas, Justine (Bryce), Stephan (Ariana) and Marcel (Dani); great-grandchildren, Joshua, Dawn, Nola, Beckett, Maeve, Belle, and Ronan; brother George (Clara); brothers-in-law Wayne, Ron, and Arthur; and sister-in-law Fran; other important family members include, Shane (Katie), Brenda, Carla, Tracey, Katharina (Gerhard), Jakob, and Leonard. Bill was predeceased by his sisters, Alice and Grace; brothers Howard, Douglas and James; sisters-in-law, Willa, Arlene, Win, Celine, Eva, Nellie, Frankie, Penny, and Marie; and brothers-in-law, Robert, Charles, Richard, and Keith.

Bill was born in Elkhorn, Manitoba, a small prairie town near the Saskatchewan border, on July 28, 1930. He spent his childhood there alongside his four brothers and two sisters. After graduating from high school, Bill spent a year teaching in a typical prairie one-room schoolhouse. Once his contract ended, he knew that he wanted a university degree, but the only program he could afford was accounting. Despite having no idea what an accountant did, Bill signed up and, by great good fortune, found his calling.

In the summer of 1956, Bill met the love of his life, Shirley, a recent nursing student, while attending an accounting conference in Waskesiu, SK. Their long-distance relationship blossomed, despite the lack of modern communication, and they married in 1958. The couple moved to Edmonton, AB, then Winnipeg, where they raised five children and remained for the rest of their lives.

Bill and Shirley were equal partners, and they shared the successes and the struggles of life. They both had great compassion for those in need, a sense of civic duty and a desire to leave their community a better place for their efforts. Where Bill was often serious, Shirley had a razor wit. Where Bill was sometimes an idealist, Shirley held the reins of practicality.

Bill was introduced to classical music early in life at his grandparents' farm during summers spent there. Bill's grandmother would play music from the radio during breakfast while everyone sat silently listening. He and Shirley shared their love of classical music with their children and grandchildren, regularly attending Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO), Manitoba Opera, Manitoba Chamber Orchestra and many related events as a family.

Bill was an advocate of the WSO, served on the board and worked hard to ensure Winnipeg had an orchestra to enjoy. Supporting the arts brought Bill many honours, including: Member of the Order of Canada, the Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts, part of the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards, and the Golden Baton Award from the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. The musicians of the WSO unanimously voted to make Bill an honorary member of the Orchestra, the only person to receive this honour.

In addition to music, Bill enjoyed art and theatre, especially Shakespeare.

Much of Bill's philanthropy was enabled by his business success. In 1965, with a young family and a large mortgage, Bill started Comcheq, focusing on payroll processing with a recent innovation: computers. Bill taught himself to write software and developed payroll processing software. Comcheq was soon a leader in the field, and by the time it was sold to CIBC, it had hundreds of employees and branches across Canada. Telpay was Bill's next venture, handling businesses' payables. He ran the company until he was 90.

Throughout his career in business, Bill gave many opportunities to employees who otherwise may have gone unnoticed by company leadership. Promotions were awarded based on ability rather than formal credentials or qualifications.

Recognition resulting from Bill's business success includes Member of the Order of Manitoba, Fellow of Chartered Accountants, Lifetime Achievement Award from the Institute of Chartered Accountants, and Chamber of Commerce Innovator of the Year.

Bill's keen interest in history found a fitting outlet in St. Norbert, where he lived most of his life. He helped establish Heritage St. Norbert and, for over 40 years, was involved in many of its accomplishments. In the early 80s, he made his first major donation to the now-named Behavioural Health Foundation, a rehabilitation facility that allows families to remain together during recovery from substance use disorders. This donation also enabled the purchase of the strip of land along Pembina Highway, now known as Place St. Norbert, to be maintained for permanent community use. That land has become home to renovated historical buildings, Maison McDougal, la Boucherie, the St. Norbert Farmers' Market, and community gardens.

One of Bill's memorable projects with his dear friend and Heritage St. Norbert collaborator Jeanne Perreault was the acquisition of a replica of a Red River ox cart, complete with a taxidermic ox named Napoleon. Many family memories involved carting this duo to all sorts of unlikely Winnipeg locations for reasons that were never entirely clear. Bill had a timber-frame display building constructed as a permanent dedication to Jeanne and Napoleon, their Red River cart, and to honour the Red River Métis history of the area. It can still be found at Place St. Norbert.

Shirley and Bill supported many other community organizations, including St. Norbert Art Centre, Shakespeare in the Ruins, Prairie Theatre Exchange, West End Cultural Centre, Urban Circle Training Centre, Winnipeg Chamber Music Society, Prairie Ink Literary Journal, Mentoring Artists for Women's Art, GroundSWELL, Nature Conservancy via a significant land donation in Lake of the Woods, the Wilderness Committee and the Sacred Firekeepers in the successful fight to save Lemay Forest in St Norbert, among others. Bill served on many volunteer boards.

Another passion kindled at his grandparents' farm was woodworking. Bill's grandfather had a well-equipped wood shop that clearly made an impression on Bill. In the summers at Bill and Shirley's cottage, Bill spent many happy hours in his workshop. While we would like to list the many keepsakes that were the fruit of this labour, we cannot. Bill was almost entirely devoid of woodworking talent. Nonetheless, he soldiered on creating toy boats that would only float downside up (no matter as it was hard to tell what was the upside anyway), light switch covers that made the switches a bit unswitchable. Many a toe was stubbed on an unfinished and unfinishable bunk bed. After much time and some instruction, Bill did create a series of passable bird feeders - passable at least from a bit of a distance. It didn't matter; Bill found joy in tools and wood regardless of our rolling eyes. When something was important to Bill, he pursued it with energy and tenacity, and he would not be influenced by others' opinions. This tenacity sometimes led him astray, but it was also key to his many achievements.

The family would like to thank the excellent staff at the Riverview Health Centre Palliative Care Unit for their care and support, and members of the WSO, past and present, who played for Bill in his final days. In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to either the Urban Circle Training Centre or the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. A memorial for Bill will take place on Monday, February 23, at 5:00 p.m., at the Desautels Concert Hall at the University of Manitoba. Parking on campus is free after 4:30.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Feb 14, 2026