February 19, 1955 – September 7, 2020
at the age of 65 years
William Arthur Reimche, born in Penticton BC on February 19th, 1955, left us suddenly, and much too soon on September 7th, 2020.
Bill is predeceased by his father Arthur Reimche and both his mother and father in law Una and Charlie Duncan. He will be profoundly missed by his loving wife of 40 years Gail Reimche and there two children Kari Arruda (Marco) and Craig Reimche (Christi) as well as the lights of his life, his 5 grandchildren; Havana, Roman & Magnus Reimche and Charlotte & Lucy Arruda. He loved them all dearly and they always brightened up his day. Bill will also be deeply missed by his Mother Irene Reimche, brother Bob Reimche (Judy), sister Jan Benson, sisters in law Barb Haithwaite (Glen) and Donna Mayer (Roger). He also leaves behind many nieces and nephews whom he loved to have a good laugh with. They all loved their Uncle Bill.
Bill spent his younger years between Keremeos and Penticton, then moved to Kamloops with his wife Gail after they were married in 1979. This is where he spent the rest of his working years with Weyerhaeuser. After Bill retired, he and Gail moved out to the cabin he was building at Shuswap Lake in 2009. There he continued to work on his labour of love, the cabin with the most amazing view. He loved to sit on the deck and enjoy his morning coffee every day, even when the weather was too cold for sitting outside. He was happiest when he was around the water.
Bill was a man of honour and pride. He took pride in everything he did (especially the cabin). He was humble and more than generous with both his time and advice for anyone he met. His quick witted, dry sense of humour made him the life of any gathering, and he took every opportunity he could to “stir the pot”. Everyone has their favourite stories or jokes from Uncle Bill, which will continue to make us laugh.
He loved and cherished his wife, children and grandchildren beyond measure. To him family was the most important thing in life, and he loved nothing more than family gatherings at the lake. He believed in two things, he needed a boat the whole family could fit on together, and a dining room table big enough for everyone to sit together for meals, especially dinner.
Bill’s loved ones will gather privately at a later date to share and laugh together in their memories of this incredible man.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the heart and stroke foundation.
Bill, Dad, Papa, you are forever in our hearts and will be missed more than you know.
How do I say goodbye to my Baby brother? We have been robbed of so many years watching our children grow up, spending good times at the lake,
comparing notes of our grandchildren, The list goes on and on. I will never be able to hug you one more time, to tell you that I love you. You have been gone a month and it isnt any easier. But I will never say Good Bye! I will hold you close to my heart and I promise I will watch over Gail and the kids and together we will always remember what a strong, caring, compassionate and successful Man you were who made his family the most important treasure of his short life. We are all better for knowing you! Your “much older sister ” as you Loved telling everyone. I am a proud sister! I love you so much.
Gail: Thinking of you at this difficult time. My Condolences to you and your family. The times that I did get to meet Bill my memories were wonderful certainly his infectious
smile and his sense of humor.
Gail, Kari, and Craig, we are so saddened to hear of Bill’s sudden passing. We will always remember him as the soft spoken gentleman with the big smile. Whenever we saw him, he always stopped and took the time to have a good chat and inject a little humor into the day. May all the fond memories of him keep you moving forward in the days ahead.
Gail, Craig and Christie, Kari and families,
I am very saddened to read of Bill’s sudden passing. He was such a nice man with a dry wit and a sparkle in his eye. I really enjoyed helping him at the eyeglass shop. He never failed to make me laugh.
My sincere sympathies to you all.
Gail and family so sorry to hear of Bill’s passing he was a great friend to us, and know he will be missed by many. My heart breaks for you all.
Gail and family. We were truly saddened to hear of Bill’s passing. He was a real standup guy who always had a smile on his face and a friendly greeting for everyone. I was just recalling our unexpected reunion in Istanbul and how Mike and Bill smoked the Hooka pipe on the street. So many funny stories that I hope will somehow ease your pain in the times to come. Sending loving thoughts and prayers to you and Kari and Craig and families.
Mike and Dorothy Woodward
Gail and family – our deepest condolences to you all. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Bill and as everyone has stated so well, Bill was a great man in all aspects of his life. We are hoping that all your great memories of you together will help to ease your sorrow.
To Gail and family. The Dufton’s are deeply saddened to have learned of Billy’s passing. Having worked at Weyerhaeuser for many years with Billy and being neighbors in Ontario, we treasured our times together. He was so important to me both as a co-worker and most importantly a great friend. Cheers to you my friend. Until next time. Sending love to this wonderful family.
Gail & family, we are so sorry for your loss. We thought a great deal of Bill. We always enjoyed our time with you guys in Arizona. He was a good character. He will be greatly missed. Our prayers our with you. Love Ron & Rhonda
Gail and Family. I was very sadden when I heard the news of Bill’s passing. I am repeating what many have said, Bill was such a nice person. Patient, caring, helpful and oh he had such a great ‘dry’ sense of humor. He was a great co-worker and taught me lots. I trust that the memories of your wonderful times together will help fill your hearts with peace and bring you comfort.
I only just heard about Bill’s passing. It makes me very sad to hear this news.
I worked with Bill for many years at Weyerhaeuser. He was a great man. Bill had a wonderful sense of humor.
He was fair and his sense of integrity was apparent in all his words and actions.
He is gone way too soon
Bill will be greatly missed by many people.
To my great Uncle Bill, you were just that… GREAT! Great at story telling, great at making us laugh, a great host and great at making me think twice about my business decisions by quizzing me on stuff I thought I knew. I really wish we could’ve spent just one more weekend with you at the cabin, I will miss those days & family dinners where we would all grab a drink and share stories as far back as I can remember! We are all sooo lucky to have had a man like you to look up to in our family and I am shocked that your gone all of the sudden… I choose to believe you have a different mission now as you seemed to be the happiest and content in your retirement with Aunty Gail at the cabin xo love you and miss you always ! ❤️
I was shocked and so saddened to hear of Bill’s sudden passing. Our visits over the years always bring back fond memories. My heartfelt condolences to Gail, Aunt Irene, Jan, Bob and Judy, and all the family. I understand all too well the pain and sadness of such a major loss. Love and blessings. My thoughts and prayers will be with you in the journey ahead.❤️
Great great friends, the best Blazer game bud Dean could ask for, wonderful Aberdeen neighbours, helpful, humorous, gracious and kind. We could all strive to be more Reimche in our families. Sending much love and our thoughts to you Gail, Kari, Craig and families.
Lauryn, Maegen, Kelly
Hi Gail, just heard the news yesterday. I worked with Bill for 16 yrs, the last 8 sitting right next to him! Bill was solid professionally. If I was ever tongue tied trying to explain a complicated lumber market, I’d listen in on Bill talking to a customer & pick up a catch phrase!
He was also clutch on a personal level away from work like at our infamous strategic business plan meetings!! Sending you much white light. Peter
We were so deeply saddened to hear of Bill’s passing today. We have been neighbours at the lake for several years and enjoyed the many times we shared together at the beautiful spot we chose to live. We admired his fortitude and determination with all the work he did on his ‘cabin’.
Our condolences to Gail and the family and hope you can cherish all the wonderful memories you had with Bill, Dad and Papa… we saw how he so looked forward to the Grandkids visiting. Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this very difficult time.
My condolences to you, Gail, Kari and Craig. I am so sorry to hear of Bill’s passing. He was such a kind and gentle man that his witty comments could sometimes come as a surprise. And there was always that sparkle in his eyes. So glad he retired early so you could enjoy that quality time together. May your treasured memories help you through this sad and difficult time.
We are so very sad to hear of Bill’s passing. Brian enjoyed the time they shared at work, and we both have great memories of time spent with you as a couple. Bill was a very funny guy, he could always make us laugh! Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time.
My sincerest condolences to Gail and family. The world will just not be the same with this humorous kind soul. I had the pleasure of knowing “ Uncle Bill” through Tracey, Krystal, Kelsey and of course Jan. I also had the pleasure of spending time at his beloved cabin on the Shuswap. Simply breathtaking beyond words. May his family be able to move forward in the day’s to come and rejoice in the many memories of “ Uncle Bill”.
To Gail and Family – my deepest condolences to you all. I worked with Bill at Weyerhaeuser in Kamloops. He was given the responsibility to mentor me to learn the lumber trading business. I found him to be just as described – kind, funny and so very patient – I will never forget him. My heart is so sad for this great loss.
We cannot express how deeply saddened we are to hear about your tragic loss Gail, Kari and Craig. Bill was the greatest guy…kind, considerate, funny and so talented in all he did. He loved you all so much. He will be missed by many. All our love and hugs as you travel through this sad time.
To my good friend Bill. One of the truly decent and honourable guys on the planet. To the many worklife memories , the odd Blazer game, to the tip of the red wine in Arizona. Will miss you fondly, To Gail & the kids you couldn’t have asked for better. And as only Bill could say “ I’m busier than giraffe in room full of ceiling fans”. Rest well my friend
GW
What a sad time for your family. Bill was such a great guy and he will be missed by so many. Knowing Bill as a friend and coworker this has been quite a shock. So many of your comments were exactly Bill, many customers only wanted to deal with him, he was loyal, honest and worked hard for them. We are so happy Bill retired younger and had several years enjoying his family and cabin and time at the lake.
Our condolences to you Gail, Kari, Craig, Irene and the rest of the family. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
We are so saddened to hear of Bill’s passing and our hearts go out to you Gail and all the family!! Bill & I worked together for 18 years at Weyerhaeuser and I always remember my first impression of Bill when I was introduced to him. I thought him to be such a gentlemen and a kind person. He was highly regarded by his many customers of whom Bill became good friends with! When Bill and Gail became our neighbors, we enjoyed having happy hours from time to time. Ted & Bill enjoyed going fishing and having a beer over hockey game discussions and since then we have enjoyed many dinners and visits with Bill and Gail. We truly admired Bill for his many talents and Gail was as much a work horse as Bill was. We will truly miss him and all the laughs we had together!
Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this time! May the wonderful memories that you have with Bill make it a bit easier to deal with your grief.
What a tragic loss for you and your family, Gail, as well as for everyone who knew and loved Bill. I’ll always treasure my extremely fond memories of him. He was a gentleman but also had that twinkle of mischievous merriment about him and was a delight to be around. He WILL be missed greatly.
We were shocked and greatly saddened to hear of the passing of our friend Bill. When Ken & I moved to Kamloops in 1989 from Ontario, Bill kindly had Gail call me and that was the start of a beautiful friendship between the four of us. We visited often and our kids were friends. We got to attend Kari’s beautiful wedding in Vancouver. Loved Bill’s sense of humour, and he loved teasing me. Every winter for several years we visited in Arizona. Have always admired Bill for his building ability, as well as Bill & Gail’s decorating style which we all had an interest in. We shared many a meal with the Reimche’s, so many good memories. Bill was a gentle kind man, and it was a privledge to call him our friend. Gone way too soon. Our deepest condolences to Gail, Craig, Kari, Mrs. Reimche and all the family and grandchildren. Bill you will be so missed but never forgotten.