Obituary of Rudy Williams

Rudy Williams After a long and wonderful life, Rudy died at Hospice Niagara in St. Catharines on October 19, 2014 in his 91st year. Rudy was a loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, uncle and friend. He will be missed by all who knew and loved him. Rudy was the beloved husband of Lena for 69 years and the loving and supportive father of Nancy Regehr (Ernie), Carolyn Lucuik - deceased (David), Bruce Williams (Tina) and Janet Sack (Dirk). He was the proud grandfather of Matthew Regehr (Brenna MacKinnon), Joel Regehr (Vania Sukola), Stefan Regehr (Tanya Chisholm), Erin Lucuik (Adam Colangelo), Ian Lucuik, Eric Williams (Melanie), Alan Williams, Selena Sack and Heidi Sack. He was the proud great-grandfather (Opa) of Joshua Williams, Nathan Regehr, Erin Regehr, Clem Sukola and Mabel Sukola. He is also survived by his two sisters, Helen Truant and Margaret Thornton, sister-in-law Elsie Schultz, and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his daughter Carolyn Lucuik, his parents Peter and Elisabeth (Baerg) Williams, his sister Rita Dyck, and his brothers-in-law John Dyck, Ermos Truant and Norman Thornton, as well as Lena's parents Henry and Anna (Goossen) Schultz and Lena's siblings and their spouses, Annie and Ben Loewen/Harry Keyes, Nat and Grace Schultz, Abe and Ann Schultz, Arnold Schultz, Tillie and Victor Unruh, and Hilda and John Mathies. Born in Waldheim, southern Ukraine on January 31, 1924, Rudy and his family came to Canada in October 1925, living first in Kitchener-Waterloo and then settling in Vineland, Ontario. Rudy married Lena Schultz on June 9, 1945. They lived for four years in a rented house in St. Catharines, moving in 1949 to the house he built at 6 Jubilee Drive, where they have lived since then. Rudy was a builder, craftsman and fixer of all things. The family home on Jubilee Drive and Waldheim, the Williams family cottage on Georgian Bay, are filled with evidence of his craftsmanship. He also helped all of his children with renovation projects. Rudy, with his wife Lena, was a charter member of Grace Mennonite Church in St. Catharines, and was active in building and maintaining the church structure as well as in serving on its committees. He and Lena also attended many Mennonite church conferences, in Canada and internationally, and were strong supporters of Conrad Grebel University College. He was also actively involved in the founding and building of Silver Lake Mennonite Camp and in the development of the Mennonite Foundation of Canada. Both Rudy and Lena established memorial funds in support of Conrad Grebel University College at the Foundation, for peace studies in honour of Rudy's parents, and for choral music in honour of Lena's parents. In his professional life, Rudy started out as a draftsman at English Electric Company in St. Catharines, then through studies over a number of years was accredited as a mechanical engineer, working next for John Inglis Company in Toronto. From 1965 until his retirement in 1991 he was the Canadian representative for Kingsbury Inc., a US manufacturer of industrial bearings. He was a valued colleague, and during his time at English Electric, Rudy participated in the development of several patents. The family extends its heartfelt thanks to the Walker Family Cancer Centre, Community Care Access Centre and Hospice Niagara for their excellent and compassionate care of Rudy over the past few months. Contributions in his memory may be made to Hospice Niagara or the Walker Family Cancer Centre. A celebration of Rudy's life will be held November 1, 2014 at 11am at Grace Mennonite Church, 677 Niagara Street, St. Catharines, followed by a lunch in the church auditorium.