William (Bill) Robert Squire died after a sudden illness in Ottawa on Monday, October 17th, just one week after his 96th birthday. He leaves his beloved wife, Anne, with whom he shared his life for over 73 years. He was a dear father and will be sorely missed by three daughters, Fran (Ken), Lauri, and Marni (Michael), and five grandchildren, Caitlin, Matthew, Graeme (Melissa), Meredith, and James.

Bill was born on October 11th, 1920, the only child of Frances and William Squire in London, Ontario, and it was there that he attended St. Georges Public School and Central Collegiate before entering the University of Western Ontario in 1938. When Bill was in his last year at Central Collegiate, he met Anne Park at a Hallowe’en dance, and soon after that his university education and his romance with Anne were interrupted by the war. At the young age of 19, he entered active service in the RCNVR Naval Reserves. He was on convoy duty in the St. Lawrence River and Labrador, and travelled across the Atlantic and Western Mediterranean Sea in corvettes and frigates. Bill and Anne sustained their relationship during the war by sending letters back and forth, and on June 24th, 1943 they were married in Windsor, Ontario. During the final year of the war, Bill took the role of Part Signals Officer in Esquimalt BC. In 1945 he was able to return to Western to finish an honours program in Business Administration and Secretarial Science, moving on to Toronto in 1948 to complete an Education degree.

From this point on, Bill’s career focused on education. A list of his posts – starting with the teaching of commercial subjects at the old High School of Commerce in Ottawa, moving up to department head at Fisher Park High School, then assuming the responsibilities of Vice Principal and later Principal at Rideau High School, Canterbury High School and the new High School of Commerce – does little to illustrate the seriousness, passion and creativity that Bill brought to his profession for almost thirty years. Bill was a gifted teacher and school administrator who also taught graduate courses at Ottawa University and was one of a group of visionaries who brought an Arts-only high school to Ottawa in the early 1970s.

Bill was a fine example of someone who embraced life-long learning, and he often surprised and delighted us in the directions it took. He was an excellent carpenter who cheerfully fulfilled the family’s requests for dollhouses, bookcases, benches, treasure chests and even stilts. After retirement, mysterious tubes with plans for model ships arrived by mail and he produced some marvellously-masted ships that involved hundreds of hours of meticulous work. He regretted his lack of a science and technology education, and made up for it by studying botany, biology, and history in a rigorous way. He was also a very early adopter of computer technology, owning one of the first IBM personal computers and teaching himself MS-DOS.

Bill served his community by being a member of Kiwanis for 35 years; he took a certain delight in recruiting speakers whose interests coincided with his. He was a charter member of Emmanuel United Church and served the church in many ways as a steward, trustee, and co-treasurer; in his own words, he was also a rather ‘discordant’ choir member, although we remember him as having a lovely baritone voice. He thoroughly enjoyed his membership in the reading group at Emmanuel called the ‘Heretics,’ a group that allowed him to explore his faith with other ‘questioning believers.’

Throughout his adult life, Bill was accompanied by his wife Anne; together they raised a family, served the community and supported each other in their independent professional lives, all the while making each other the number one priority in their lives. Bill’s tender commitment to Anne in the months following her stroke was a gold standard of devotion. A private man, Bill had to patiently endure the sometimes chaotic changes to their lives, obliging him to welcome up to a dozen people into his living room and bedroom every day. All Anne’s caregivers admired this remarkable gentleman who unfailingly greeted them with good humour and respect.
The family is grateful that Bill was able to celebrate his 96th birthday in good health.

A Memorial Service will be held on Thursday, October 27th at 11:00 AM at Emmanuel United Church, 691 Smyth Road.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Bill’s name to the Emmanuel United Church Restoration Fund (www.emmanuelunitted.ca), the Multifaith Housing Initiative (MHI) (www.multifaithhousing.ca) , or a charity of choice.