January 28, 1918 - August 18, 2021
The Williams family is sad to announce the death of their father, grandfather and great grandfather, Edward Joseph (Joe) Williams at his home in Nanaimo on the morning of August 18, 2021, at the age of 103. Dad was born in Brandon (Manitoba) to Ane (née Jensen) and Hector Williams (a CNR engineer) on January 28, 1918, and grew up in Fort William (now Thunder Bay), Ontario. He had one sister, Marjorie, now deceased.
He joined the Canadian army (4th Field Ambulance) in September of 1939 and spent the next six years in the U.K., Iceland, and France. He eventually went to Royal Military College, Sandhurst and received his commission in the Royal Armoured Corps. He met his wife-to-be, Ella, in England and they celebrated 58 years together before her passing in 2001.
Joe had a remarkable and varied career that began in northern Ontario, then northern Manitoba (where he served in 1957-8 as the first MLA of the new constituency of Churchill while also managing all non-military facilities at Fort Churchill.
He moved to the Fort Smith, NWT as Director of Industrial Development for the Department of Northern Affairs. In 1968 he joined the Department of Indian Affairs in Ottawa and later moved on to positions in Moose Factory and Peterborough.
He retired in 1983 and moved to British Columbia where he and Ella enjoyed life in White Rock. He moved to Nanaimo in 2004 where he lived the rest of his life.
A celebration of his life will take place in the future when conditions allow. The family would like to thank the staff of Lakeside Gardens where he lived for many years, and Island Health Home and Community Care and Home Instead.
He is survived by sons Hector, Bruce and David, and their wives Caroline, Cathy and Brenda, grandchildren Elizabeth Dylke, Emily Williams, and Andrew Williams, and great grandchildren Mataya and Hugo Dylke and Torin Joseph Mackay - Williams.