We were so very sad to hear about Ernie passing away, please accept our deepest condolences. Ernie was a great guy, a kind man and always fun to be around.

Our thoughts are with you Janet and your family.

Mike and Liz Rickards

So sorry to hear about Ernie. He was such a kind and gentle soul. What a wonderful legacy he leaves behind with his children and grandkids. I'm sure he will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him. Another La Ronge pilot who has left this world far too soon. Thinking of you all at this difficult time.

Gayle Davidson

I'll always have very fond memories of Ernie. He was a genuine, kind, & gentle soul. A very interesting guy, but also took interest in those he was with. I know he'll be missed greatly. My deepest condolences and love to the Byl clan.

I had the privilege of working with Ernie often when he started flying at Time Air/Canadian Regional Airlines, and subsequently at WestJet. He was a consummate professional, always prepared, patient and kind, qualities that he espoused throughout his career. It was always a pleasure to spend time or share a flight deck with Ernie. Condolences to Janet and Family.

Having started my flying career in northern Saskatchewan, I had always “heard “ of Ernie Byl. I had the privilege of meeting in person when Ernie did my WestJet interview over 25 years ago. I will always remember Ernie as a gentleman above all and exemplary colleague. My prayers for your family at this difficult time.

Arnie Shakotko

Janet and family we were so sorry to hear of Ernie’s passing. Our sympathies to you the girls and their families. It is a blessing they live so close to you.

Elaine and Glen Conacher

Ernie and I were original pilots at WestJet when we went through training in 1995. I got to know Ernie as a friend and mentor in the early WJ days. As a new guy to the airline industry, I appreciated the guidance and wisdom Ernie imparted. He will be missed by all his pilot friends.

Harv Wregget

Ernie, was a one of a kind ,warm and remarkable person and a huge inspiration to me personally. It’s hard to describe in words, as a manager of Flight Operations at WestJet, he was an amazing leader who led by example and was outstanding dealing with people. When I first met Ernie, and then got to know him at WestJet, I thought this is how airlines and companies should be managed and run, and his leadership directly contributed to the ultimate success of WestJet. He expected a lot from his fellow pilots, but did so in a laid back friendly and gregarious style so you did your best to do a great job, and have fun while you were doing it. He loved flying more than office work, and left a light hearted message on his voicemail when he was out of the office, saying he was out flying and had “ escaped the office “ . Condolences to Janet and his family and to all those who were fortunate enough to get to know Ernie. He will definitely be missed, and I think a lot of his philosophy of life and work have been passed on to the rest of us, to live on.

Dear Janet Tara Chrystal and Nichole

Our deepest condolences to you Our thoughts and prayers are with you

Dan and Bonnie Joynt

I want to express my deepest condolences to the whole Byl family for the passing of Ernie. He was a great mentor to me when I first began working for Westjet. I had flown with him on a number of occasions and he was such a warm, friendly and kind man. He was very easy to talk to and I had immense respect for him after flying with him. My most memorable time spent with Ernie was when he and I had to shut an engine down at Westjet back in the summer of 2014. It was our last day of a 4 day trip and on our way home. Short after takeoff we had a problem that led us to shut down an engine diverting from Hamilton into Toronto. After only being on the line for over a year Ernie was the perfect Captain to work with given the situation. He was such a relaxed, calm and communicative man and this gave me the confidence to help assist him in landing successfully on one engine. I’ll always remember and talk about the reaction he had when we touched down in Toronto, he reached over with a big smile and handshake and told me…excellent work!! He even let me land a heavy 737 single engine, for me this will always be a highlight of my career and it was all due to Ernie’s demeanour and leadership style. He will be deeply missed. As a Captain now, I strive to be like Ernie. May you rest in peace Ernie, blue skies and tailwinds

My wife Lynn and I both worked with Ernie while he was at Time Air many years ago. Even then he was a legend among his peers, never mind another whole career later at WJ!! We kind of lost track of Ernie at times for the next couple of decades, but aviation is a funny profession because the people you work with ARE like family, and even though we may only have seen Ernie a few times over the years since we worked with him, the news of his passing found us swiftly and hit us hard, as Ernie was a mentor to a great many and a wonderful friend to all that had the privilege of working with him and knowing him.

“Aviate, navigate, communicate”, we’ll never forget you Ernie.

Condolences from Lynn & I to Ernie’s family and close friends, our thoughts are with you at this very sad time.

Neil “Snake” Mitchell

Lynn Jacobs

Calgary AB

Deepest condolences to the family. Ernie was a mentor and friend throughout my career and I'm grateful for knowing him. Blue skies and fair winds.

Dear Janet,

I was so sorry to hear of the loss of your dear husband .You and your family have my heartfelt condolences and you are in my prayers..

Sincerly,

Pauline Murray

Dear Janet and Family,

We are so very sad to hear of Ernie's passing.

Although our visits to Alberta were few and far between, what we are certain of is that Ernie was a caring man, dedicated to his family and friends, sincere, talented, and accomplished.

A good life... well lived with many decades of wonderful fun adventures with such a beautiful family and many long time friendships.

Ernie you will be dearly missed. It is an honour to have known you.

Love Lori (Baker) and Wood Griffiths

Blue skies and tail winds my friend. It was my pleasure to have flown and work with you in your numerous other roles at Westjet. You sorted me out on more than one occasion! Truly an inspiration to me and countless others

Regards

Steve Brown

ex 153

I am so very sad to hear about Ernie's passing.

I have such fond memories of gathering on Thursday nights in Morinville with children in tow...they were never left behind, most Thursday's we rotated whose place the gathering would be at...kids slept on beds/floors wherever there was room

We chatted the night away, played cards and may have had a bevvie or two. It was a magical time for Peter and I to have such

a beautiful network of friends.

Ernie had a great sense of humor. I remember one day when he asked to borrow our car named "Grace" - he got back to our place

after using the car looking rather pale. He said I don't know how to tell you this - "I think you're engine has had it" I asked him if he happened to turn on the window wipers which he replied he had. I said well that was the problem - the wiper motor is not working and sounds ghastly. A huge sigh came out of his mouth and he doubled over with laughter - he thought he had done something to cause the noise in our car.

Ernie was always game for a fun time - be it at a cabaret, bike riding, camping...he always seemed to have a smile on his face.

He loved his family that was plain to see and hear.

He will be missed - I am grateful I had the joy of knowing him and Janet and their family.

Beautiful family - beautiful times

Janet and all your family.

We were so sad to learn of Ernie's passing. We have many fond memories of when you were living in Prince Albert! We know that all your wonderful memories will be with you all forever.

Sincere condolences from John & Marj Bodnarchuk

We were so very sorry to learn of Ernie's passing. He was a gentle man; he had a gentle spirit. He was easy to get to know, and easy to be around. I met Ernie and Janet when we were all in high school. Ten of our group married within close proximity to one another, and started our families shortly thereafter. Those were some of the best years; so many fond memories. I moved to the U.S. in 1981, so visits became less frequent. My last visit with Ernie and Janet was on May 7th of this year. Despite Ernie's illness, he and Janet drove from Cochrane to St. Albert. We spent a wonderful evening together, hosted by Wayne and Elaine Kinsella. It was wonderful to be together again. I am so very grateful to have had that opportunity.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you, Janet, and with your children and grandchildren. May the memories of Ernie sustain you as you learn to navigate this difficult journey without your beloved husband.

With sincere sympathy,

Lea Shelemey, Denise Dalphond and Gregory Dalphond

Ernie Byl Memories

Ernie has been a lifelong friend since the early 1970’s when we were 19 years old. Our adventures have been varied and created wonderful memories. On a lark, one Tuesday night around midnight Ernie and I decided we should go visit Pat Gleason who was working on a train gang at Entrance, Alberta. We drove thru the night and arrived around 4 am. Pat was sleeping in a train bunk house on the tracks. We parked very close to the train and went to sleep in the car. Pat awoke at 6am and threw open the sliding door, only to see my car parked a few feet from the train. Believing he was still dreaming, he had a whiz from the train door as he did every morning, this time almost hitting the hood of the car. After rubbing his eyes, he recognized the car and came to see what the heck was going on. We told Pat that we were going to Vancouver for a few days and he should come. Pat spoke to the boss and explained the situation. The boss said no way, get to work. Pat was left with no choice but to quit his job and hop in the car for a last adventure before we all headed off to Europe. The three of us had a great time driving to Vancouver, staying a few days with my aunt, and then driving back again.

Shortly after returning, 5 of us buddies hopped on the train to Montreal and then flew to Copenhagen, Denmark. It was a wonderful 3 months exploring Europe all the way down to Morrocco and back to Denmark for the flight home. Unfortunately, early on in the trip Ernie’s return flight ticket got stolen while we were in a hostel in Amsterdam. Lufthansa Air assured Ernie they would replace his ticket and it would be awaiting him upon his return to Copenhagen. Undaunted, we set out for the adventure of a lifetime, seeing Holland, France, and Italy. We lived on the island of Ibiza in the Mediterranean for a week with some Americans we met. Next, we skied the Matterhorn Mountain in Switzerland for a week, then off to Spain and into Morrocco. Morrocco was certainly the most exciting, with everything being so different from Europe. At various times we were all together traveling or split up and traveled alone. As we worked our way north again, we were excited to fly home. Alas, when we got to Copenhagen the airline tickets were nowhere to be found. I said, Ernie I’ll stay till your tickets arrive in a week. Being almost out of money and no place to stay. Ernie and I squatted in the airport sleeping on the airport waiting area benches. The cleaning staff took great delight in waking us up each night and making us move while they cleaned. With so little money left we had to make it last. We bought a loaf of heavy black bread and a big jar of peanut butter. Three times a day we ate a slice with peanut butter. By the end of the week, we could hardly stomach it. To pass the time we worked on developing a 3D chess board. It was more complicated than we could imagine but it did help use up the time living in the airport. Ernie was very gracious as I was terribly homesick to get back to see Elaine. He said the tickets are coming tomorrow, why don’t you fly home now and thanked me for waiting with him. I left on a flight that afternoon and Ernie stayed on by himself and flew out the next day. What a trooper!

Upon returning, Ernie and Janet got married in July 1973 and six months later Elaine and I got married in December. It was an honor for Ernie and I to be Best Men for each other. Thru the years we grew even closer and started our families. Our kids became like cousins and many nights involved sleep overs for everyone. We had a large group of friends and we often gathered on Thursday night to party. Everyone brought their kids and they slept on the floor till it was time to go home.

Our friendship never wavered and we loved every time we could get together and pick up right where we left off as if there was no time in between. To this day our families are very close and now all the extended grandchildren treat each other like cousins. What an honor it has been to share over 50 years with the Byl family. We all love and miss you Ernie, you are the finest of friends. The families will carry on together knowing that is exactly what you would have wanted! Love Wayne & Elaine Kinsella

Note - click photos on the main menu to see additional pictures

Dearest Janet and family.

I’m so sorry to receive this very sad news. It’s been a while since I’ve seen any of your family. Since I received the news from Yessy that Ernie wasn’t well I have kept you all in my prayers. You and Ernie were very instrumental in continuing the family tradition of keeping family and friends together, as shown by dear Len and Mayke. Walter and our family were also the recipients of unconditional love from you all. Please know that I am thinking of you all, knowing that sadness you have now will be helped by the wonderful memories in your hearts.

Love and hugs

Barbara

So sorry to hear of Ernie’s passing. I first met him in 1987 while waterbombing with Saskatchewan NAO. He was always upbeat and a pleasure to work with. Once he was established at WestJet, he rose quickly through the ranks to be a respected influencer within the quickly growing airline. Ernie was instrumental in my pilot application being accepted in 2000, and understanding and gracious when I had to withdrawal shortly after initial training. He broke through “old school” aviation human relations, and I respected him greatly for that. RIP Ernie

Wat een droevig bericht, dat Ernie er niet meer is. Wij wensen jullie allemaal heel veel sterkte en kracht in de deze moeilijke tijd. Wij zijn dan wel ver weg maar voelen met jullie mee.

De hele familie uit Maastricht