Obituary of Idwal Owen Williams

Idwal (Ed) Owen Williams passed away peacefully on March 7, 2023, leaving behind his wife, Artis; four children, Owen, Jana, Loren, and Sharon; eight grandchildren Tyler, Darien, Jen, Jord, Jesse, Jamie, Ellis, and Erin; and four great grandchildren, Kai, Ella, Kayalla, Sienna; as well as one scrawny cat and a cellar of homemade wine.

Born in Bangor, SK, on May 13, 1928, Ed was the only child of John and Annie Williams. He grew up on the farm helping his parents and neighbours, later moving to Winnipeg to attend mechanics school. With certificate in hand, he moved to Wilkie, SK, in 1950 where he worked as a mechanic and where he met a shy red head, named Artis Gunter, a telephone operator for SGT. Ed and Artis were married in 1956.

Two years later, they decided to leave the prairies and move to Creston where dad joined his good friend Jack Potyok at his auto body shop. Dad’s parents also decided to move to Creston where they bought a house with a small orchard in Erickson.

Dad would later work at OK Tire and eventually open his own garage in 1971 with the name Williams Safety Center.

On Christmas Eve, 1976, we all moved into our newly built house at Sanca (Kootenay Lake). Mom and Dad became active members of the Boswell community. Dad was the caretaker of the Sanca water system and was always available to help out his neighbours. He was a master of fixing things and could often be found in the garage, outdoors, or mastering his wine recipe. He loved driving the boat, and was always available to pull his kids and grandkids around the lake on water-skis and inner tubes.

Dad was also active in curling, hiking, golfing, long distance running, camping, and fishing. He won numerous curling trophies and once carried the torch for the Calgary Olympics. He loved to dance, enjoyed singing, chocolate, and was a stylish dresser. We will always remember him having fantastic hair styles from brush cuts to perms to an unruly rooster style at the end.

There were a few times when we thought we could have lost him (a heart attack, he fell off the roof and broke his back, a mysterious strep arm disease and two hip replacements) but like a Duracell battery he stubbornly kept on going. We often thought he may actually live forever. Two years ago, a stroke left him with aphasia. While he struggled to translate his thoughts into words, he could often be heard asking us if we were ok or telling us he loved us. Post stroke, he seemed to have acquired a softer side and was amused by the outdoor life that surrounded him.

On Tuesday, March 7^th he finally left his 94-year-old body to explore the universe above. He will be greatly missed and our love for him will live on forever.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held on August 12, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. at the Boswell Hall, 12374 Boswell Road, Kootenay Lake.