WILLIAM (BILL) BURDEYNY

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WILLIAM (BILL) BURDEYNY May 10, 1925 - May 14, 2018 IT'S BEEN A GREAT 93 YEARS! On May 14, 2018, at The Georgetown Hospital, Georgetown, ON, Bill completed his earthly journey, leaving behind loving family and precious memories. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Mappus, daughter Dianne (Richard) Burke, grandchildren, Ruth, Tracy, Terry, Kerry and Amanda; great-grandchildren, Kyle, Tisha, Nika and Keaton. Predeceasing him were his parents, Louis Burdeyny, Anne Rozmo, sister Julia Lialiuk, and loving daughter Donna. Bill received his elementary education in Saskatoon at Princess Alexander School and at St. Joseph's College in Yorkton, SK. In March of 1942, Bill began apprenticing as a Carman in the CNR Transcona Shops. A year later he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy Reserve in the Shipwright Branch and received an honourable discharge in 1946 as a Petty Officer after serving on east coast naval bases as well as the Frigate, HMCS Buckingham. It was after his Navy discharge that he then returned to the railway service in Transcona. The 1960s found him in various journalistic roles as the Editor of the Transcona News weekly newspaper which was followed by a position at Motor Coach Industries as a Technical Writer. To serve his community he was elected to the Transcona City Council as an Alderman. His love of Journalism continued and seeking to continue in the field, he acquired a position with the Winnipeg Tribune in 1967, being assigned over the years, the tasks of Suburban Editor, Bureau Chief at Winnipeg City Hall, Copy Editor and by far his favourite assignment being his Outdoor Trails column where he was allowed to spend time outdoors doing all the things he loved and then being able to write about his adventures. Sadly, the Winnipeg Tribune ceased to publish in 1980 after 90 years in print and as a final assignment, Bill was given the honour of providing the headline for the final printing....it being "IT WAS 90 GREAT YEARS." Prior to his retirement in 1990 from the Manitoba Community Services Department as a Media Specialist, Bill held the position of Public Information Officer with the Children's Aid Society of Winnipeg until its dissolution. Keeping active was critical to Bill so he involved himself in physical as well as intellectual activities. He was a member of the Men's Musical Club and the Winnipeg Male Voice Choir. During his retirement years, he was a member of the Creative Retirement Club and he served as a volunteer with the Winnipeg School Division where he worked with students of all grade levels. Skates, sticks and hockey pucks occupied trunk space as well as baseballs and bats. He played with the Midnight Flyers Hockey Club, News Media Hockey Team and Oldtimers Leagues in St. Norbert and St. James. He was a founding member of the Transcona Trojans Minor Baseball Club and he played for the Transcona Senior Baseball Club from 1942 to 1954. Being on the field in an active role had Bill umpiring in Winnipeg and rural centers for more than 15 years. It was after his retirement that he stepped up his involvement in baseball even more and upon joining the South Winnipeg Seniors Mixed Slo-Pitch League he was elected president for the 1991-1992 term. Not to be idle for too long he went on to become a founding member of the Remax Slo-Pitch Softball Team which saw participation in five Senior World Series Championships. The draw of warm air and sunshine was compelling for Bill so in September, 2007 he relocated from Winnipeg to Largo, FL. It was on a previous visit that he met Dorothy and shortly after his arrival in Largo, the two were married. Baseball never fell by the wayside. He continued to be actively involved with several teams over the years as a team pitcher and he made the choice to "walk off the field" in 2016 at the age of 91 years. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alzheimer Society of Canada or a charity of your choice. Cremation has taken place and a private family service is planned for a future date. In the words of my father, he would now say to one and all......"PLAY BALL!!" "MY FATHER DIDN'T TELL ME HOW TO LIVE; HE LIVED AND LET ME WATCH HIM DO IT."

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on May 19, 2018