William (Bill) Gibson

June 18, 1944 – October 8, 2026

It is with great sadness that the family of William (Bill) Gibson announces his passing on October 8, 2026, at the age of 82, just two weeks after celebrating his sixtieth wedding anniversary with his beloved wife, Eleanor.

Born in Pictou, Nova Scotia, in 1944, Bill came from a family steeped in Scotland’s shipbuilding tradition. His father, also William Gibson, had brought the family to Canada during the Second World War to help build ships for the Allied war effort. Following the war, the family returned to Scotland, where Bill grew up and eventually followed his father into the shipyards along Glasgow’s River Clyde.

Bill began his working life as an electrician at the Fairfields shipyard in Govan, Glasgow, later moving into the drafting office. His training as a draftsman left him with exceptionally precise penmanship, particularly when it came to numbers, a small but distinctive skill that remained with him throughout his life.

It was through his work in the shipyards that Bill met Andrew Hutton, who introduced him to his sister, Eleanor, in 1963. Bill and Eleanor married on September 24, 1966, and just twelve days later, on October 6, set off for Canada. Although born in Canada, Bill had grown up in Scotland and initially applied for a visa, only to discover that he was already a Canadian citizen and needed a passport instead. What was intended to be a two-year adventure became a lifetime together in Canada.

Their marriage brought together the Hutton and Gibson families, creating an exceptionally close extended family whose bonds endured across generations. Together, Bill and Eleanor established a welcoming home where friends and relatives alike were made to feel they belonged.

After arriving in Canada, Bill worked for Canadian Vickers before joining Joy, a major company in the air pollution control industry. He spent much of his professional career there, progressing from field engineering into technical sales and service, and eventually international sales. His work took him around the world and brought together two of his greatest strengths: a deep understanding of engineering and a natural ability to connect with people.

Bill was a man of strong principles, definite opinions, and a deeply held sense of right and wrong. Although generally stoic, he possessed a wonderfully dry Scottish sense of humour, along with an appreciation for the absurd. He and his son, Marc, shared a particular fondness for films such as Airplane!, and Bill’s endless curiosity meant that he enjoyed watching movies with the director’s commentary, often as interested in the story behind a film as in the film itself.

Despite a career that frequently took him away from home, Bill always made time for his son’s questions. Whether explaining how a machine worked or why something in the world was the way it was, he believed in giving the right answer rather than the easy one. His explanations could occasionally be infuriatingly detailed, but they helped foster a lifelong curiosity and a desire to understand the world.

Bill was equally generous with his time and practical skills. Never far from his bag of tools, he was always ready to lend a hand with a project. Throughout Marc’s childhood and teenage years, he could also be found driving his son and his friends all over God’s green acre, seemingly without complaint. He was, as his family might say, Uber long before Uber existed.

The Gibson home was a second home to many of Marc’s friends, some of whom remained close to Bill and Eleanor throughout their lives. Among them was Marc’s lifelong friend Nic Pratt, whom Bill affectionately nicknamed “Useless” when the boys were young. Decades later, when Marc faced some of life’s most difficult challenges, Bill, Eleanor, and Nic came together to support him. In recognition of Nic’s efforts, Bill finally bestowed upon him a long-overdue promotion from “Useless” to “Useful.”

Throughout his life, Bill retained a deep affection for Scotland and especially for the sea. One of his favourite places in the world was Largs, the seaside town on Scotland’s west coast where he spent many happy childhood summers with his grandparents. Largs remained a place of profound family significance, home to the Gibson family plot where his parents and brother John were laid to rest. During frequent family visits to Scotland, Bill, Eleanor, and Marc would return to Largs, maintaining a connection to the generations who came before them. That affection was passed on to Marc, who continued making his own pilgrimages there as an adult.

Nothing brought Bill greater joy than being Papa to his grandchildren, Thomas and Evelyn. During the isolation of the COVID years, Bill and Thomas found a way to bridge the distance between them through their shared love of Lego. Papa and Thomas would each have the same kit, assembling their creations together over FaceTime, with Eleanor, affectionately known as Gran, joining in.

For Evelyn, Papa was both a playmate and an endlessly patient grandfather. He would sit in his chair and let her slide down his legs as though they were a playground slide, much to her delight. Whenever the family’s little redhead wanted to borrow Papa’s iPad to play her games, he would dutifully hand it over without complaint.

One of Bill’s last major projects brought together his lifelong love of making things and his devotion to family. At the age of seventy-eight, he joined Marc in designing and constructing a tree fort from scratch for Thomas and Evelyn. By then, the roles of father and son had evolved. Bill trusted Marc to lead the design and manage the project, while contributing the decades of practical knowledge and craftsmanship that only experience could bring. Together, they created something neither could have accomplished quite the same way alone.

Above all, Bill was a devoted husband to Eleanor, his partner in life for sixty years. Two strong-willed Scots, they could undoubtedly drive one another mad from time to time, but theirs was a marriage founded on deep love, mutual respect, and unwavering commitment. Together, they crossed an ocean, raised a family, and shared a lifetime of experiences.

That devotion was perhaps never more evident than during Bill’s final months. Throughout his long hospitalization, Eleanor was at his side every single day, offering the same steadfast companionship that had defined their marriage. When Bill passed away, Eleanor and Marc were beside him, holding his hand.

Bill was predeceased by his brothers John, who died in childhood, and Hugh, and his sister Anne. He was also predeceased by Eleanor’s brothers Andrew, Ian, and Jim, with whom he shared a lifetime of family ties.

He is lovingly remembered by his wife, Eleanor; his son, Marc; and his beloved grandchildren, Thomas and Evelyn, who knew him simply as Papa.

Bill’s life was one of building: ships, a career, friendships, a home, and a family. But perhaps his greatest legacy lies not in the things he built with his hands, but in the knowledge he shared, the people he helped, and the love he gave so freely.

And there still stands a tree fort, built by a father and son for two children, a lasting reminder of a man who never stopped building things for the people he loved.

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