Educator, writer, builder, family man, activist, community resource. Born Oct. 18, 1924, in Twin Falls, Idaho. Died Oct. 21 in Nanaimo, B.C., of endocarditis, aged 86.
"The way to have a productive retirement is to make darn sure you have a life parallel to your work before you retire," Bill observed in an interview with Senior Living Magazine a few years ago. Obeying his own wisdom, he vigorously pursued an array of occupations – writer, artist, builder and activist – in addition to his lifetime calling as an educator.
As a schoolboy, Bill's first job was "tending the line of rope tied around the janitor who was tied to the chimney." Later, he and his brother Ted set themselves up as fishing guides. Bill became a photographer, then served in the U.S. Navy. He came home to a job as a watch and clock repairman, and later worked as a wheat harvester, photo-lab technician, combine operator and taxi driver as he pursued further education.
In 1947, Bill met Jo Packenham during a winter hayride on a sleigh in Moscow, Idaho. They married in 1948 and settled in La Grande, Ore., where Bill taught at Eastern Oregon College. After completing a PhD in geography at the University of Oregon in 1969, Bill, Jo and their two sons, Mike and Tim, immigrated to Canada, eventually making their home in Yellow Point on Vancouver Island. Bill accepted a position as the local teacher for hospitalized and homebound students, a job in which he was much loved by two generations of students.
A man who seemed able to make anything, he could also make do with anything. An early environmentalist, Bill knew when "enough was enough." In his 80s, he was proud to report that he hadn't bought anything new for decades, choosing instead to make purchases at garage sales and secondhand stores. Nothing was ever wasted or worn out. Things might fall apart, but they could always be fixed or rebuilt.
Bill was justly proud of his two sons, and his devotion to his wife, a celebrated artist and published poet, was legendary. Over their marriage of more than 50 years, Bill engineered a host of constructions to support Jo's work, including building a studio that boasted tall windows salvaged from churches and other sources.
"I've always wanted a turret," Jo mused one day. "Why don't we build one?"
Bill, always fulfilling Jo's dreams, set to erecting a tower three stories tall, topped with an aerie and assembled from reclaimed lumber and stone trucked in from a nearby quarry.
In his 80s, Bill produced two books: The Wisdom of the Tools, essays on political science and human geography, and River Runts, recounting boyhood fishing adventures, co-written with his brother Ted. Together, these books show Bill's balance of practical ingenuity, idealism and altruism. He loved the natural world, was a constant political activist, a fine raconteur, a faithful family man and a tireless champion of causes for friends, relatives and the planet.
By Carol and Mike Matthews, Bill's friends.