Obituary of William George Hanley

June 10, 1933 – Edmonton, Alberta

December 28, 2024 – Calgary, Alberta

William George Hanley of Calgary, AB, passed away on Saturday, December 28, 2024, at the age of 91 years.

William – Bill, to everyone and anyone who knew him – was born in Edmonton, AB, on June 10, 1933, a city he retained a deep affection for over the intervening years.

Dad married Mom (Marjorie or Marj) in 1961, and they bought a house and settled our family in Braeside in Calgary, AB, in 1968, and there our family remained through the years.

Bill and Marjorie, Dad and Mom, lived happily in that house until she passed in 2018. He stayed there with his cat and constant companion Andy. That house was always full of cats over the years.

Even when Dad couldn't care for the house any further in the last couple of years, he was enormously pleased and proud that his granddaughter Courtney and her husband Jarrett bought it and brought it back to life as the place to raise their young family.

Dad was a member of several service organizations over the years, including the Calgary Active 20-30 Club in his younger days, where he organized – of all things – soap box derbies on the organization’s behalf.

He was particularly proud of and active in his church home, Southwood United, from when the family first moved to Calgary in the mid-'60s. He was a Sunday School teacher, a greeter, and a stewardship leader and he even helped to build the new Southwood church building – he was (many times) a member of the Southwood Board and was deeply engaged in supporting the church he loved right through the last few years of his life.

He also represented Southwood at Presbytery and was actively involved as a volunteer and executive at the Calgary Food Bank, where he often took family and friends to show them the important work that was being done there.

Dad was passionate about hockey and Canadian football, playing both when he was young, and coaching hockey for many years when his sons were young.

A great skater and an enthusiastic but not so great golfer, Dad stayed active well into his late 80s.

His charm and bonhomie and stories of being a boy in the tough parts of Edmonton will be sorely missed, as will his talk of good jazz – he knew a lot - and his never diminished and always enthusiastic ‘rose coloured glasses’ for those he knew and loved – he thought that the people he loved were the most wonderful in the world – even when we weren’t - and he never ceased to sing their praises.

Dad is survived by his sister Alice in Edmonton, AB, his son and daughter Douglas (Georgia) and Susan (Richard) in Calgary, AB, and his son Kenneth in Vancouver, BC.

He is also survived by three granddaughters, Courtney (Jarrett Dragani) and their two small children Sofia and Charlie Joseph, and Caitlin, and Erin, all now in Calgary, AB.

Dad was predeceased by his beloved wife, our wonderful mom Marjorie, whom he watched over carefully in the last few years of her life.

Many thanks to Johanne Fraser, who has been Dad's close friend and companion over the last few years. She has made Dad's last years much fuller and happier, and she is much appreciated by the family.

Funeral Services will be held at Southwood United Church (10690 Elbow Drive S.W., Calgary, AB) on Friday, January 10, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. Reception to follow in the Church Hall.

If friends so desire, memorial tributes may be made directly to the Calgary Inter-Faith Food Bank Society, 5000 – 11 Street S.E., Calgary, AB T2H 2Y5, Telephone: (403) 253-2059, www.calgaryfoodbank.com.

Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared and viewed with Bill’s family here.

In living memory of Bill Hanley, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes, Park Memorial, 5008 Elbow Drive SW, Calgary, AB T2S 2L5, Telephone: 403-243-8200.