Obituary of William Edward Wilder

William Edward Wilder passed away on Friday, July 23, 2021, all too soon. Born in Toronto, November 2, 1956, the son of William Price Wilder and Judith Ryrie Wilder. Bill will be greatly missed by his daughter, Elle; her husband, Jeff; and their adorable one-year-old son, Charlie; and by his son, Mac; and by their mother, Sandi Wilder. He will be sadly missed by his siblings, Martha, Tom (Sylvie) and Andy (Lori), as well as nieces and nephews: Justin, Neal and Meaghan (Jordan); cousins Tim Macdonald (Bonnie) and Jamie Macdonald (Jane) as well as many friends and colleagues.

Bill attended Upper Canada College starting in 1964 at the Prep and left after Grade 11 to become a border at Trinity College School in Port Hope. He went on to do a commerce degree at Queen's, where he also refined his distinctive dance moves! Upon graduation, he "went down to Bay Street" along with many of his friends and encouraged by his Dad. He spent more than 40 years working in the finance industry and developed a reputation for being honest, trustworthy and shrewd. For many years, Bill was Chair of the E.W. Bickle Foundation (now The Bickle-Wilder Foundation). In that capacity, he successfully guided the investments, and when allocating donation funds, always thought of the "underdog". He was on the Board of Governors at Mac's school, Sterling Hall, as Chair of Advancement and Chair of the Capital Campaign; and was a member of the Investment Committee, Trinity College School Foundation.

Bill loved sports! As a young boy he played endless ball hockey matches in the backyard with the neighbourhood boys (no girls) and he participated in the house leagues at UCC. He loved to watch his favourite team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and as soon as his grandson Charlie was born, Bill was coaching him to say "Go leafs Go"!  Charlie doesn't yet speak, but he willingly complied by wearing a blue and white "Leaf" jersey. Bill’s philosophy of life reflected this keen interest and could be summed up as "good sportsmanship":  Play by the rules - Cooperate with team members - Treat winning and losing as the same. ..

As a father Bill was understanding, encouraging and loving. He introduced his family to Georgian Bay and fishing at The Tadenac Club; skiing on minor slopes and major mountains; and to tennis at his "second home," the Badminton & Racquet Club.

The family is grateful for the special care provided by Dr. Elena Elimova at the Princess Margaret Hospital.

Bill made friends throughout his life with his warmth, wry sense of humour, and his easy-going and gentle manner. In recent years he may have become harder to reach, but he maintained his loyalty to his friends.

A private service will take place. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the recently established, W.E. Wilder'75 Athletics Bursary Fund at the Trinity College School Foundation, 55 Deblaquire Street N. Port Hope, ON L1A 4K7 or online at https://www.tcs.on.ca/giving/donate. Condolences may be forwarded through www.humphreymiles.com.

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