Obituary for William George "Billy" Birley
Birley, William George “Bill”
Suddenly, at Brantford General Hospital, on Saturday May 22, 2021, a lifelong resident of Paris, in 77th year.
Beloved husband to Sandra (nee Reading); loved dad to Keith, Kevin (Amy), and Jacki Blenkinsop (Shaun).
Cherished grandpa to Travis, Tylor, Skyler, and Delia; Dear brother to Ada Wood (the late Ernie), Mary Devereux (Jim), the late Joan, Linda McComb (the late Harold), Brenda Sowden (Ernie), the late Cecil (Esther), Dennis (Shelagh), Audrey VandeZandschulp (Jake), Kathy McLean (Greg) and Kerry (Judy). Also survived by many cousins, nieces and nephews. He will be missed by his many friends.
Cremation has taken a place, with interment Paris Plains Cemetery.
Donations to Heart and Stroke and Paris Plains Cemetery.
Online condolences and donations may be arranged through www.wmkippfuneralhome.com or by contacting Wm. Kipp 519 442 3061
William (Bill) Birley Memories
Known lovingly as “Billy, Shorty, Papa, Q-Tip and The Toughest Guy in Paris”, Bill will forever be remembered for his kind, empathetic, young at heart, giving, genuine, hard-working, family oriented, friendly and jokster/humourous ways. Bill would talk with everyone he met and left a lasting impression of “being a good guy who would do anything to help anyone”. He believed in community, family, friends and helping others out. There are so many stories we could all tell about Bill as he always made things fun and gave everything he did with all his heart. Here are some memories of Billy we would like to share:
• Bill came from a very large family of 11 children. His parents Josephine and Cecil passed away when he was just a young adult. He also had many other extended family members of many brother and sister-in-laws that he was very close to. He would stop by and visit family and always had an open door for family/friends to stop by and visit. His family was his world.
• Bill spent most of his life living in Paris, Ontario and most people in town knew him. He always stopped to chat with others around town and would often be gone longer than he planned as he was catching up with people he knew and meeting new people as well.
• When Bill was younger, he worked as a “hot walker” to cool the horses down after racing at Woodbine Racetrack. During this time, he broke his back when riding the horses and wore a full body cast before he was fully healed.
• Bill worked for 39 years at Crane Canada before he retired and took his whole family on an all-expenses paid trip to Jamaica to celebrate all his hard work and retirement. He spent time ziplining and spending time with his wife, kids and grandchildren.
• Bill was married to Sandra on February 22, 1964 and they shared their life together for the past 57 years; sharing their life together with their children Keith, Kevin and Jacki. Bill and Sandy celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary with some of their close friends in Cuba and had the time of their life with lots of laughs.
• Everyone in Bill’s neighbourhood knew him. He was always close friends with his neighbours and was always helping them out.
• Together with his son Keith, they restored his old 1962 Pontiac Laurentian replacing, rebuilding or restoring every single part. Bill could build anything, and even sewed all the interior seats himself on his industrial sewing machine. Bill loved driving around Paris honking his silly horn and going to car shows with his car – his pride and joy.
• Hanging out with all his coffee buddies at Tim Hortons on Hwy 2&5 every weekday morning meant a lot to Bill. He loved pulling pranks on his friends and making them laugh.
• Creating a beautiful space and spending many years at Shady Rest Birley park also meant a lot to Bill. He cleared the land at the park and put in hydro, water and so much more. He spent 26 years there and could always be found on his riding lawnmower or golf cart. Bill and his family hosted many Birley & McCarthy Family Reunions and family/friend breakfasts at Shady Rest cooking bacon, eggs and hashbrowns, etc for 359 people free of charge. The Birley family all pitched in and helped cook to make this happen at Shady Rest. He loved bringing people together and tried to make his rounds to talk and joke around with everyone there. Bill made things at the trailer for others to enjoy including a golf course, beautiful flower gardens, hand made benches/tables, ladder golf games and a riverside dock.
• Bill received his Millwright license at 52 years old. Bill and his daughter Jacki spent many hours studying together to make this dream come true for him. This meant a lot to Bill as he had to quit school as a young boy and he worked so very hard to improve his reading/writing to make this happen. He had many obstacles to overcome to realize this goal, but when Billy made his mind up to do something he always pushed through. He carried his Millwright licence in his wallet and was proud to achieve this goal.
• Bill spent a lot of time in his garage building and sewing anything you could imagine. Bill was an Inventor and was always good with his hands. His boys Keith and Kevin both have some of these same skills today. He always put his own spin on things and added that special “Billy touch” with some bright red paint, shiny brass and stainless-steel fittings. He created so many things including, a wood splitter, electric toolbox, a yellow skid steer, pig spits, firepits, solar heated hot water for an outdoor shower, reupholstering bus seats, sewing machinery and air conditioner covers, reupholstering furniture, building garages/sheds, pouring cement and his most recent raised garden bed on wheels with its own irrigation system for watering which he made to plant a vegetable garden the day before he passed.
• Many years camping on weekends at Pittock and Willow Park (Paris) with family will always be remembered. You could always count on a few laughs and drinks around the fire with Billy. He made a huge stainless-steel frying pan and was always cooking huge pizzas or bacon/eggs over the open fire for everyone.
• He was a very sensitive guy who you could tell by his expression. He often had a hard time with words telling people this, but over the past few years got really good at saying “I love you” and he had to say it quickly like “iloveyou” as it was hard for him but he meant it with all his heart. Bill’s eyes and expression showed how much he cared and he could often be caught tearing up over things that he was proud about.
• His sense of humor. He was always pulling silly pranks and making jokes to make others laugh. He would take great pleasure in pulling pranks to make others laugh. There are more stories than we could possibly tell here… We all have a funny memory we can share here of a silly prank that Billy pulled on us. I know he would love us to share these stories and smile as we remember the pranks he pulled. Bill would love to wear silly shirts and hats to make others happy and loved the reactions he got when he made others smile.
• The things he did with his grandchildren who were the light of his life - creating pop can crushers with Skyler for a school project, building a soap box derby car with Delia and watching her race, picking black caps at the trailer, riding snowmobiles together, being at the park with Travis and Tylor mini-golfing and riding the golf cart through the trails. He was a Papa/ Dentist pulling the grandchildren’s loose teeth so the tooth fairy would come sooner.
• Bill was always making things for his friends and family. So many of us have things around our homes that Billy made and we will forever remember him with these items made by Billy’s hands.
The Birley family would like to thank everyone for all the well wishes, sharing of Billy stories and gestures of love and friendship. We are all better off having shared memories and time with Bill and will keep him close to our hearts forever and always. Sending much love to you all.
We love you Shorty, Dad, Papa. XOXO
Suddenly, at Brantford General Hospital, on Saturday May 22, 2021, a lifelong resident of Paris, in 77th year.
Beloved husband to Sandra (nee Reading); loved dad to Keith, Kevin (Amy), and Jacki Blenkinsop (Shaun).
Cherished grandpa to Travis, Tylor, Skyler, and Delia; Dear brother to Ada Wood (the late Ernie), Mary Devereux (Jim), the late Joan, Linda McComb (the late Harold), Brenda Sowden (Ernie), the late Cecil (Esther), Dennis (Shelagh), Audrey VandeZandschulp (Jake), Kathy McLean (Greg) and Kerry (Judy). Also survived by many cousins, nieces and nephews. He will be missed by his many friends.
Cremation has taken a place, with interment Paris Plains Cemetery.
Donations to Heart and Stroke and Paris Plains Cemetery.
Online condolences and donations may be arranged through www.wmkippfuneralhome.com or by contacting Wm. Kipp 519 442 3061
William (Bill) Birley Memories
Known lovingly as “Billy, Shorty, Papa, Q-Tip and The Toughest Guy in Paris”, Bill will forever be remembered for his kind, empathetic, young at heart, giving, genuine, hard-working, family oriented, friendly and jokster/humourous ways. Bill would talk with everyone he met and left a lasting impression of “being a good guy who would do anything to help anyone”. He believed in community, family, friends and helping others out. There are so many stories we could all tell about Bill as he always made things fun and gave everything he did with all his heart. Here are some memories of Billy we would like to share:
• Bill came from a very large family of 11 children. His parents Josephine and Cecil passed away when he was just a young adult. He also had many other extended family members of many brother and sister-in-laws that he was very close to. He would stop by and visit family and always had an open door for family/friends to stop by and visit. His family was his world.
• Bill spent most of his life living in Paris, Ontario and most people in town knew him. He always stopped to chat with others around town and would often be gone longer than he planned as he was catching up with people he knew and meeting new people as well.
• When Bill was younger, he worked as a “hot walker” to cool the horses down after racing at Woodbine Racetrack. During this time, he broke his back when riding the horses and wore a full body cast before he was fully healed.
• Bill worked for 39 years at Crane Canada before he retired and took his whole family on an all-expenses paid trip to Jamaica to celebrate all his hard work and retirement. He spent time ziplining and spending time with his wife, kids and grandchildren.
• Bill was married to Sandra on February 22, 1964 and they shared their life together for the past 57 years; sharing their life together with their children Keith, Kevin and Jacki. Bill and Sandy celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary with some of their close friends in Cuba and had the time of their life with lots of laughs.
• Everyone in Bill’s neighbourhood knew him. He was always close friends with his neighbours and was always helping them out.
• Together with his son Keith, they restored his old 1962 Pontiac Laurentian replacing, rebuilding or restoring every single part. Bill could build anything, and even sewed all the interior seats himself on his industrial sewing machine. Bill loved driving around Paris honking his silly horn and going to car shows with his car – his pride and joy.
• Hanging out with all his coffee buddies at Tim Hortons on Hwy 2&5 every weekday morning meant a lot to Bill. He loved pulling pranks on his friends and making them laugh.
• Creating a beautiful space and spending many years at Shady Rest Birley park also meant a lot to Bill. He cleared the land at the park and put in hydro, water and so much more. He spent 26 years there and could always be found on his riding lawnmower or golf cart. Bill and his family hosted many Birley & McCarthy Family Reunions and family/friend breakfasts at Shady Rest cooking bacon, eggs and hashbrowns, etc for 359 people free of charge. The Birley family all pitched in and helped cook to make this happen at Shady Rest. He loved bringing people together and tried to make his rounds to talk and joke around with everyone there. Bill made things at the trailer for others to enjoy including a golf course, beautiful flower gardens, hand made benches/tables, ladder golf games and a riverside dock.
• Bill received his Millwright license at 52 years old. Bill and his daughter Jacki spent many hours studying together to make this dream come true for him. This meant a lot to Bill as he had to quit school as a young boy and he worked so very hard to improve his reading/writing to make this happen. He had many obstacles to overcome to realize this goal, but when Billy made his mind up to do something he always pushed through. He carried his Millwright licence in his wallet and was proud to achieve this goal.
• Bill spent a lot of time in his garage building and sewing anything you could imagine. Bill was an Inventor and was always good with his hands. His boys Keith and Kevin both have some of these same skills today. He always put his own spin on things and added that special “Billy touch” with some bright red paint, shiny brass and stainless-steel fittings. He created so many things including, a wood splitter, electric toolbox, a yellow skid steer, pig spits, firepits, solar heated hot water for an outdoor shower, reupholstering bus seats, sewing machinery and air conditioner covers, reupholstering furniture, building garages/sheds, pouring cement and his most recent raised garden bed on wheels with its own irrigation system for watering which he made to plant a vegetable garden the day before he passed.
• Many years camping on weekends at Pittock and Willow Park (Paris) with family will always be remembered. You could always count on a few laughs and drinks around the fire with Billy. He made a huge stainless-steel frying pan and was always cooking huge pizzas or bacon/eggs over the open fire for everyone.
• He was a very sensitive guy who you could tell by his expression. He often had a hard time with words telling people this, but over the past few years got really good at saying “I love you” and he had to say it quickly like “iloveyou” as it was hard for him but he meant it with all his heart. Bill’s eyes and expression showed how much he cared and he could often be caught tearing up over things that he was proud about.
• His sense of humor. He was always pulling silly pranks and making jokes to make others laugh. He would take great pleasure in pulling pranks to make others laugh. There are more stories than we could possibly tell here… We all have a funny memory we can share here of a silly prank that Billy pulled on us. I know he would love us to share these stories and smile as we remember the pranks he pulled. Bill would love to wear silly shirts and hats to make others happy and loved the reactions he got when he made others smile.
• The things he did with his grandchildren who were the light of his life - creating pop can crushers with Skyler for a school project, building a soap box derby car with Delia and watching her race, picking black caps at the trailer, riding snowmobiles together, being at the park with Travis and Tylor mini-golfing and riding the golf cart through the trails. He was a Papa/ Dentist pulling the grandchildren’s loose teeth so the tooth fairy would come sooner.
• Bill was always making things for his friends and family. So many of us have things around our homes that Billy made and we will forever remember him with these items made by Billy’s hands.
The Birley family would like to thank everyone for all the well wishes, sharing of Billy stories and gestures of love and friendship. We are all better off having shared memories and time with Bill and will keep him close to our hearts forever and always. Sending much love to you all.
We love you Shorty, Dad, Papa. XOXO