Condolences
Our deepest condolences to Eva, Richard, and Joanne. I will miss Bill very much. Love Ernie and Luba
Our deepest condolences Eva, Richard, and Joanne. I met Bill in 1957 when I started taking lessons from him on 8 Ave. Mall. I learned so much from him through the lessons I took and even after 56 years I still have the opportunity to apply such small but important details to a couple of students I attempted to teach English while here in Kazakhstan the last 7 years. Meticulous is one word I would describe Bill similar to myself, that’s why I enjoyed spending time and conversing with Bill; exchanging stories with while having coffee. I will miss him very much. Love Ernie and Luba.
I am grateful and fortunate to have been impacted by Bill and his unique style for just over 14 years now. In this time together, I saw that he was timeless, honest, accountable, loyal, humble and yet bold. In addition, he was somehow able to remain completely unselfish.
I will remember him as a friend, a father figure, a grey sheep, a legend, an example, a giver, a character and above all “a gentleman”!
May God continue to bless his awesome family (that he also managed to share).
Bill will always be remembered for the great artist that he was and the dedicated teacher he became. He will also be remembered as the father of our beautiful children, Richard and Joanne, and though we later went our separate ways, we always remained good friends.
My heartfelt condolences to Eva, Richard and Joanne and hope they will remain strong during this trying time.
My condolences to Bill’s loved ones. Bill was a good man and his spirit will be with many of us for a long time. I am grateful for the help Bill gave me. He is in my prayers.
Bryan Boyer
I met Bill after attending the Kimberley Accordion festival where someone encouraged me to seek out the Macen Accordion Studio on Centre street. I am so glad that I did this and had the opportunity to have Bill in my life. I ended up taking lessons from him for nearly 12 years. He knew how to push you to your “best” and although I felt a bit intimidated at times I did learn SO much from him. We also shared stories about our mutual Ukrainian heritage and our families, his commitment and devoution to his students was exemplary. Bill was a master teacher, a mentor and a dear friend to me – I will miss him dearly. Rest in peace Bill.
My sincere condolences to Eva, Richard and Joanne.
Saddened to hear of the passing of my first music teacher, and my accordion teacher for eight years.
I know that Bill is one of the major reasons I went into music, and I still believe he’s had more influence on my teaching style with my own music students than anyone else. He emphasized quality over quantity – he took time with a song and its details, rather than pushing his students simply to rush through repertoire to “progress”. He treated each song as a journey and an experience, mining all the technical and artistic potential out of it, making us feel as though we’d truly accomplished a work of art. I mainly remember him trying to explain what he called “IT” – that undefinable quality that made a song, and a musician, ring true with emotion. He said he couldn’t teach “IT”, it was something we just had to feel.
Bill, I’m sorry I didn’t become the accordion virtuoso you wanted me to be. However, you gave me something much, much more valuable as a performer and person. You took a shy little kid with depths of feeling so big that they couldn’t be expressed through words…and let them soar through music.
You helped me find IT.
All my love to Eva and to Bill’s family.
-Jenny (Andersen) McLaren and the Andersen family
Dear Eva.
It was a pleasure to know Bill and You. It started more than four years ago. He was my son’s Music teacher. And after that he became like his grand father. He loved my son and saw so much potential in him. Thank You for being in our life.
We are going to miss You.
The Prajzler family.
Our condolences to Rick and families.So sorry to hear of Bills passing.
Let me echo the praise that Bill rightfully received from all of us at the Grey Sheep. He was a rock and an inspiration to us all. My thoughts will be with you on the 21st of September, but I am unable to attend the memorial service and celebration of his life, as my sister is getting married that day in Edmonton.
Neil Webb
I started to take music lessons from Bill in 1952 when I was 12 years old. I quit lessons in 1954, resumed lessons in the 1960’s for several years and quit once more. In the late 1990’s I went back to take lessons and took lessons until his passing. Looking back over the last 60 years Bill has evolved into a great music teacher and friend. Bill will be missed. He was a great friend.
Murray and Barb Peterson
Bill will be missed by all that knew him. He touched many lives. I met Bill through the Grey Sheep and he was and always will be a pillar of the group. His wisdom and sense of humor was second to none. Bill will always be with the group, his stories etched in our lives forever. Condolences to Eva, Rick and Joanne.
Sincerely ,
Jake & Linda
I am very sad about Bill. He started out as my accordion teacher, but soon became my friend also, and really, an inspiration for life, for myself and so many other people. He was always in tune with life in general. He seemed to be a guide for so many of us, that it feels strange not to have him around now… It is difficult for us without him here, but I believe that he must have known it was his time. He will now be where he should be, at this moment.
Bill had a certain personality that he really took to you or not, and if he did, then did he ever. As a music teacher, he would become involved not only in his students’ music, but in our lives in general, and never held back on telling us his opinions! Whether it was food we should eat, or people we should hang around… It was his way of showing he cared, and really, when it came down to it, he would have done anything at all to help out any member of his family or close friends. What more can we ask for?
On top of being such a loyal friend, he was a really excellent music teacher. Especially for the fact that he would tune into each students’ personality & work with music & techniques to suit that person. He would never tire of spending hours working on a single detail of how to make one part of a song sound just right… A real perfectionist, and that it why he was so great. For me, he was really the person that inspired me to pursue music seriously, and I will be forever grateful for that. The music will be a lifelong journey to enjoy now, even though it will be difficult not to be able to share it with him…
I will miss him very much, but can feel that he will always be around in positive spirit, shining light on life for all of us.
All the best to his family: Eva, Joanne & Richard,
Penny
My thoughts and prayers are with Bill’s Family. I first met “Gentle” Bill 30 years ago. God Love him.
We were very sorry to hear of Bill’s passing. He was a great accordion teacher and a legend in my mind. His stories of where he played the accordion, the type of music he played and the musicians he encountered were always captivaiting, and had in them important life lessons. I loved spending time with him and learning music through him. He had an amazing touch on the accordion and was so knowledgeable of the whole instrument.
He is a great teacher and friend and we will miss him greatly.
Love Always, John, Anita, Sophia, Conrad, Moses and Rose Brabec
DEAR EVA AND FAMILY
WE JUST GOT HOME FROM CAMPING AND GOT YOUR E-MAIL..
YOU AND RICHARD AND JOANNE HAVE TO BE VERY PROUD OF ALL THE GOOD DEEDS OF HELPING PEOPLE AND TEACHING MUSIC TO THE MANY STUDENTS HE SHAPED IN LIFE.
HE EARNED HIS WINGS AND IS WITH THE ANGELS FOR SURE.
GOD BLESS HIM AND KEEP HM IN HIS HEAVENLY KINGDOM/
WE WILL MISS HIM BUT HE LIVES IN THE SPIRIT
FRANK, ELIZABETH AND MICHAEL
We were so sorry to hear of Bill’s passing. Each week it was such a pleasure to see him after his lesson to Reba. Not only was he the best teacher, he was also a dear friend that we became very close with.
He will be truly missed.
Dear Eva, Joanne and Richard
We are so sad that Bill has passed, he was an amazing man who touched the lives of many!
He will be remembered always for his humour, his story telling, his music, and his unconditional help for those that needed him. He will be deeply missed
Love Adele, Carlos, Ryan, Steve, Andrea and kids, Alicia, Chirs and kids
I am sorry to hear of Bill’s passing. He was not only my music teacher but also a friend. He was a great music teacher, an even greater musician. My condolences to his family.
Like so many of us who are friends of Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob, I met Bill Macen when I was at a very difficult time in my life. I had just moved to Calgary from Ontario and was starting my life over in a new place with no connections to my support system other than the knowledge that there were places I could go and find people like me.
One of these places was the Grey Sheep group and it was there I met Bill. He saw right away I was struggling to hold on in my new surroundings and reached out to me. That was Bill’s way, he would reach out to you and ask if you were doing OK and would take a genuine interest in your life. He was there week after week and would always ask if I was getting along OK and would take time to talk with me.
The years went along and Bill continued to do this for so many new guys coming into the room on the Wednesday evenings and I grew to look at him as sort of an adopted father. I did this because I saw in him the way of life that was promised to me if I just followed the road laid out in front of me. The road I saw Bill walking every week, the road to self-discovery.
Bill Macen will be greatly missed, fondly remembered and often quoted in our Grey Sheep Wednesday evenings for a very, very long time to come.
With love and respect always Bill,
Brian Finner.
Sincere Condolences to Bill’s family. Bill will be missed very much.
Bill was my first cousin. His mother Mary and my Father Michael Grekul (deceased 1982) were sister and brother. My last visit with Bill and Eva, was several years ago, on Ukrainian Christmas Eve. It was such a special time, because we were able to bring together some of our family…..My brother Ed Grekul, and wife Shirley from Edmonton, as well as my cousin Allan Soldan and wife Heather, from Two Hills. We were able to call Allan’s mother Margaret Soldan, in Two Hills, AB (Bill’s Auntie and mother Mary’s sister)…..What a special call it was. We will always remember this “Family Reunion”. Our deepest condolences to the Macen Family.
Gail Grekul(Anderson), Randy Anderson and the Grekul Family
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