William A. (Bill) Whyte

It is with great sadness and much love that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, dad, grandpa, and great grandpa, William (Bill) Whyte. Bill lived a heartfelt, vibrant, and active life, filled with tremendous accomplishments and wonderful escapades.

Born in Vancouver to William and Lillian (nee Rougier) Whyte, Bill passed away peacefully in Nanaimo on October 31, 2020 at the age of 92 years.

Bill grew up in Vancouver with his brothers Gord and Jack. He attended Moberly Elementary and John Oliver Secondary Schools. Involved in many sports at JO, Bill began to emerge as a prominent figure in the Vancouver sports scene, especially in baseball and rugby. Bill’s talent, discipline, and hard work saw him play professional baseball with El Centro (California), Calgary, and the Vancouver Capilano’s. He went on to be a double sport (rugby and baseball) five-time Big Block athlete at UBC. Bill was the recipient of UBC’s prestigious Bobby Gaul Award and, in 2004, was inducted into the UBC Sports Hall Of Fame. https://gothunderbirds.ca/honors/ubc-sports-hall-of-fame/bill-whyte/102

While at university, Bill met Eleanor Cave, also a UBC athlete. They married in 1952 and remained in love for 68 years, only separated by his passing. Together Bill and Eleanor had four children, David, Ron (RJ), Barbara, and Valerie.

Upon graduating from UBC, Bill began his long and prestigious career with the Vancouver School Board; first as a high-school teacher and then as an administrator. Throughout his career he was known to be fair, caring, and practical. He believed building relationships was the key to being a successful educator. He often spent lunch hours visiting the kids in the smoke pit across the road from the school. He believed a stronger community could be had by getting to know all the students, without judgement. During his career, Bill worked at Gladstone, Tupper, Lord Byng, and Churchill, and finished his career as principal of Kitsilano.

Bill’s greatest love and pride was for Eleanor, his kids and their spouses, grandkids and great-grandchildren. He attended every soccer, basketball, tennis, and hockey game he could. He went to dance competitions, rugby and baseball games, field hockey matches, and swimming competitions. He took a genuine interest in each endeavour his children and grandchildren chose to pursue. Bill and Eleanor were often known as the “team grandparents” as all the parents of the kids’ teammates got to know and love them.

Bill had many friends with whom he had great times, lots of laughs, and wonderful travel experiences. His annual golfing and fishing trips spanned more than 30 years. Spring breaks in Palm Springs and golfing in Sudden Valley were always filled with laughter, silliness, and great happy hours. When not travelling, Bill could be found on the on the golf course. Even in his 90s, Bill played with his regular group on Monday mornings.

Bill was loved by so many, those who knew him for years, those who were colleagues, and those who knew him briefly. The constant phrase repeated about Bill was: he always listened, he was genuinely interested in our stories, and he cared. His quick wit and cheekiness put smiles on our faces right to the very end. Bill left his beautiful footprint on anyone who was fortunate to have met him and he will be missed by all.

We would like to thank the staff of Berwick on the Lake and the Brio Care Unit for your wonderful care of Bill.

At this time, due to COVID-19 protocols, there will not be a service. For those wishing to honour Bill’s memory with a donation, please consider UBC athletics (baseball/rugby) http://memorial.support.ubc.ca/bill-whyte or a charity of your choice.