Obituary of William Windsor Jarvis

To Watch the recording of Service click this link

https://youtube.com/live/8TBipsD6Z98?feature=share

William Windsor Jarvis, age 86 of Saskatoon, born on April 10, 1937 sadly left us on March 6, 2024 following a brief illness.  Bill is survived by his loving wife of 62 years, Patricia Jarvis and family as detailed below:

Parents:     Dana and Frances Jarvis (deceased)

Sibling:       Allan (Maria) Jarvis (Bolivia)

Children:    Robert Jarvis (Sarnia, Ontario)

                      David Jarvis (Saskatoon)
            
                             Brooklyn (Brandon) Donsberger
            
                             Lauren (deceased)
            
                             Megan (Matthew Denny)
                
                                        Evelyn (Bill’s first great-granddaughter)
            
                             Spencer
        
                     Kevin (Hui Cheng) Jarvis (Perth, Australia)
            
                             Kieran
            
                             Mikayla
            
                             Myra
        
                     Cinnamon (Gordon) Martell (Saskatoon)
            
                             Nelson (Kassey Beck)
            
                             Emily (Aaron) Gabor
            
                             Sarah

Bill was born in Sudbury, Ontario and grew up in mining communities in northern Ontario and Quebec with his younger brother Allan.  Bill’s first trade was as a surveyor and he worked various jobs including at Elliot Lake, Ontario where he met and married Patricia, who was a nurse at the local hospital.  Their first child, Robert, was born 10 months later in Elliot Lake.  In search of work the family crossed the country to the West Coast, working in a mine on Texada Island where David and Kevin were born.  Then onto Revelstoke where Bill worked as a surveyor on the Mica Dam and Cinnamon was born.  At the age of 31, with a young family, Bill decided to attend a technical school in Burnaby, BC (BCIT) and graduated with a diploma in mining technology in 1970.  The next step was Campbell River where Bill worked at the Myra Falls mine.   Wanting to find a more permanent position that also offered opportunities for the children the family then moved to Saskatoon where Bill worked at the Allan Potash mine (PCS at the time, now Nutrien) in growing areas of responsibility to his final position as Senior Shaft Supervisor.

As a young man, Bill was very sports oriented and enjoyed playing ice hockey, curling, bowling and fishing using his prized wooden boat which he towed across Canada behind his Triumph TR3 sports car.  The 2 seater sports car (and the wooden boat) did not last long when the kids were born and a VW Combi van became a necessity.  The family had many adventures in the van, with camping and fishing trips a regular summer pastime.  Air travel was not an option and the family van was used for epic road trips to visit family in Ontario and explore the BC interior and US down to California and Nevada.

After settling in Saskatoon, Bill and Pat had dreams of a holiday home and bought a plot of land at Blackstrap Lake, south of the city.  Bill was determined to build a sustainable home on his plot of land and settled on a log cabin design that could be assembled himself with the assistance of his large family.  Four years later the cabin finally resembled a home but was still incomplete when he fell while finishing the interior and suffered a serious head injury in 1984.  This accident profoundly impacted the rest of his life.  Bill survived the accident but had to go on long term disability from the mine until he retired. 

Bill developed a hobby of collecting lost golf balls at the Blackstrap golf course.  While walking the family dog, Sparky, he found many, many buckets of balls, but golf was not a sport he ever played. The balls were given back to the local golfers, as the first tee of the course was across the road from the Blackstrap cottage. 

Later in life when Pat retired, Bill and Pat travelled the world and saw many interesting and beautiful places such as Europe, Australia, Mexico, Alaska, China, Singapore, and New Zealand from which Bill was happy to share stories repeatedly with whoever, whenever someone was willing to listen. After retirement the cottage at Blackstrap underwent further construction/renovation and became a home for Bill and Pat for the next 11 years. Lake life was a nice change of pace from the city and they immersed themselves in the local community and tried to keep up with the growing number of grandkids. In 2014 Bill and Pat moved back to Saskatoon into a condo to be closer to family and health care and all the amenities of the city.

Healthwise Bill had to live with diabetes, Parkinsons and later dementia.  Diabetes was a challenge as he loved his sweets.  He was known to sneak extra cookies and cake at coffee time.  Parkinsons affected his ability to eat, walk, write and socialize.  As dementia began to take its toll Bill’s life entered a new phase. This disease which clouds the mind and obscures memories presented challenges that Bill faced with remarkable bravery and resilience.  Throughout his journey with Parkinsons and dementia there were moments of difficulty but also moments of profound clarity and beauty.  Moments where the essence of his spirit shone through the fog, reminding us of the incredible person Bill always was.

A funeral service will be held in his honour at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 16 at St. John’s Anglican Cathedral, 816 Spadina Crescent, Saskatoon (livestream link: https://youtube.com/live/8TBipsD6Z98?feature=share). Interment will take place in Millbank Ontario at a later date. In lieu of flowers, we invite you to make a donation to St. John’s Anglican Cathedral Restoration Fund (816 Spadina Crescent, Saskatoon SK, S7K 3H4) https://stjohnscathedralsaskatoon.ca/donate or the Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Association of Saskatchewan North (351 Kenderdine Road, Saskatoon SK, S7N 3S9). The family extends their gratitude to the staffs of Sherbrooke Community Centre and St. Paul’s Hospital for the care and compassion they provided.

May Bill rest in peace and memories of him live on in the hearts of those who knew and loved him.