Tribute

Bill Macleod At 3:00 on February 11, at the age of 93, while a piper played “Scotland the Brave”, our dad Bill MacLeod (Big Mac) “… slipped the surly bonds of earth…” and passed. Bill was born in Vancouver to Mary and Judson MacLeod, their only surviving child of four. An excellent athlete, student and a dedicated Boy Scout, he lived by the Scout motto to the end and always left a campsite in better condition than when he arrived. After high school Bill started a career in the merchant marine but serendipitously ended up in Powell River. At the town’s soda fountain, he was served by a lovely local girl, Marge MacGillivray, his future wife and the mother to be of their three children. He revised his career goal and attended UBC teacher training. Dad taught in the Okanagan and Powell River, then accepted a job in Osoyoos in 1954 as the youngest Principal in the province at the time. He and Marge built a home on the lake that provided an idyllic childhood location for their kids and a wonderful place for friends and relatives to visit. Dad was passionate about education, both learning and teaching, implementing innovative methods to the education system and pursing a Masters degree. Known for team building, Bill was found as often in the bus garage or custodians’ room as the staff room or his office. In 1970 Bill joined the burgeoning community college system to make advanced education available to everyone. Dad’s core philosophy about education was any education system should not build walls but open doors. The family were avid skiers and in 1968 Bill and Marge along with a group of partners started Baldy Mountain. This culminated in 1974 with Bill and Marge moving to Baldy to work and live full time. They built a cabin that has been the location for numerous generations of family and friends to start their skiing adventures and is still in the family and well used. Bill returned to education in 1979 becoming Dean of vocational training at Okanagan College. He retired in 1988 and continued his love of learning by getting his pilots license and teaching his growing number of grandchildren the joys of camping, travelling, flying, boating, carpentry, home building and repairs. He moved to Powell River in 2004 and pursued hobbies of gardening, orcharding and nurturing mason bees. He is remembered by his three children, Rod MacLeod, Marcie Mehaffey and Doug MacLeod (Laurie), nine grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. Our campsites are all much the better for his having been here. Thanks to his doctor Steve Burns, the amazing staff at Kiwanis and the people from Dying with Dignity Canada for all their care and love.