Obituary of William Fridrik Johnson

William "Bill" F. Johnson, 83, of Ottawa, Ontario passed away peacefully on July 24, 2024.  Born on October 26, 1940 in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Bill was a beloved Dad, grandfather, uncle and brother.  He was known for his generosity, dedication to his church and supporting those around him.

 

Bill is survived by his children Maria (Dave), Nick (Mira), his grandchildren, Amanda, Joey, Enisa, Claire and Emma as well as his siblings, Aldis, Marion, Nancy and Ed.  He was preceded in death by his daughter Emma (Jason) and his parents Magnus and Pauline.  The family wishes to extend their gratitude to the staff at Carleton Lodge who took such good care of him in his last year and weeks of life.

 

A Funeral Service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 31, 2024 at Pinecrest Remembrance Chapel, 2500 Baseline Road.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to The Dementia Society of Ottawa in Bill’s memory.

 

For those who wish to join the service virtually, you may do so using this SERVICE LINK.

 

 

NICK:

 

Several years ago, our Dad told us that it was important to him that his educational and professional accomplishments be included in his eulogy. He wanted his resume to be the foundation of any eulogy. These things held immense weight to him and he took great pride in his various achievements.  Without a doubt, he had every right to be proud. We will do our best to honour that request while expressing our love for the person he was as Dad, Papa, Bill, the names most commonly used for William Fridrik Johnson.

 

Our father was an Icelandic Canadian and proud of it. He was born in Kirkland Lake, Ontario October 26th 1940 to Pauline & Magnus Johnson. He has 3 sisters (Aldis, Marion & Nancy) and a brother Edward. He was closest in age to his sister Aldis & they built a bond that lasted his whole life.

 

His father Magnus moved around for work after landing a job at Ontario Hydro. They moved from Larder Lake, to Niagara Falls and then Cornwall. Dad graduated high school in 1958 from St Lawrence High School in Cornwall. He obtained a BA in Applied Science from the University of Toronto in 1962.  He went on to the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he got his Masters of Science in 1964 and then decided to finish things up with a Science Doctorate in Transportation Planning also  from MIT.  He became Dr. William F. Johnson, a well-earned title he wore proudly the remainder of his life.

 

Dad was a lifelong public servant. Following MIT he moved to the UK starting his career at the Greater London Council (GLC). He was the “Senior Research Officer” for the Intelligence Unit, Computing Planning and Transportation Department. Quite the mouthful. He once told us he operated a computer tha filled an entire room and needed punch cards to operate. One of the first IT officers, ironically, it must not have taken his interest much.. His more modern computing skills were less savvy.

 

London is where he met our mother, Avril Milne, who also worked at the GLC. An office romance flourished into marriage. They moved to Canada in early 1974 where Dad landed a job on February 4th, 1974 at Transport Canada. A department he would serve faithfully in many senior positions in Ottawa & Montreal until he retired as the Executive Director of Transport Canada in 2003.

 

MARIA:

 

He worked at many part time jobs that often probably felt like full time. He lectured at Carleton University here in Ottawa. He helped mentor post graduate students with their studies. He was a founding member of the Intelligent Transportation Society of Canada and chaired or co-chaired many transportation related committees. He lobbied the local government for years regarding transport issues from roads to traffic lights to left turn lanes. He was not afraid to take on City Hall. He tried, although in vain, to have Hunt Club road moved further south.

 

His ITS work kept him busy in retirement. He used his work with ITS to travel the world attending conferences. You name the country, he’s been there. He always seemed to be going to or preparing for an upcoming conference in a new or exotic location. He was never NOT working on something. His last ITS presentation was  in October 2021 at the age of 81.

He worked tirelessly for over 40 years as a volunteer for his church in a number of capacities but mainly as the treasurer.  Although he would never advertise this, it was not unusual for him to give his own money to cover small shortfalls or donate funds to what he considered to be worthy causes.  He felt very strongly that it was both his civic and moral responsibility to actively participate and contribute to the church.

 

On top of all this he served on the condo board at Woodlea in various capacities over the years, eventually becoming the Condo Board Head.  This kept him incredibly busy and he was always the consummate professional, regardless of the number of complaints from residents or other board members.

 

When Dad’s health started to decline he decided it was time to step down from his various church, condo and professional obligations.  He believed that he owed it to them to give 100% of himself, but his health prevented this. Otherwise, we are certain he would have continued up until his last breath.

 

As I mentioned, these things were of tremendous significance to our Dad, but to us, he was more than just his academic and professional achievements.  He was the ultimate family man.  He was very dedicated to his siblings and over the years made countless trips to London and Toronto.

 

Most importantly, he loved his 3 children who grew up to be pretty good adults. He loved his grandchildren especially and was blessed with 5 of them (Amanda, Joey, Enisa, Claire, Emma) along with 2 great grandchildren (Jasmine, Richie). He loved being around all his extended family, nieces and nephews & cousins. All were important to him.

 

NICK:

 

He loved a good road trip. While growing up he drove us across Canada, both coasts, a few times with 3 kids in the car, a tent trailer and nothing but an AM radio for entertainment. For enduring this, with all the complaining, kids fidgeting while he drove, the endless “are we there yet”, the nightly set up, the morning tear down at the campsite, he remains a hero to me. He proved then & there, beyond the shadow of a doubt that he loved his children.

 

He loved family get-togethers and of course documented them all with photos.  Growing up we were always waiting for Dad to get set up for the perfect shot.  Although many of those natural smiles turned into strained grins while he fussed with the camera settings, as we got older, we appreciated the effort he put into documenting not only his own life but our’s as well.

 

Our Dad was big on memories.  Whether it was creating them or documenting them, they were important.  Family trips, family celebrations, multiple conferences, milestone events; there are boxes of photographs containing photos documenting all of this.  After our sister Emma passed away, he was determined to carry on & make new memories. His strength during that difficult time remains an inspiration.  The cruel irony of his dementia was that it robbed him of most of his memories, so these photographs are even more precious now.

 

While going through one of Dad’s boxes, we came across a book of memories that was put together by various family members for his 70th birthday.  These capture the essence of who he was.  He was different things to different people and we all remember him in distinct ways. All of his carefully documented memories are ingrained in each of us.  Although in the latter part of his life he may not have been able to summon these recollections, they continue to live through all of us.

 

MARIA:

 

We’d like to share some memories with you now to give you a sense of who he was as a Dad, grandfather, brother, uncle, cousin and friend.

 

• He was a Dad who taught his values by example; the importance of family, hard work, education and fiscal responsibility
• Even with his academic and professional achievements he was a humble and modest guy.  Although proud, he never bragged about his educational pedigree.
• He was a meticulous record keeper and loved to file, box and store these. Everything from personal vehicle fuel consumption, finances and all the organizations he helped. He had boxes & boxes of documents from years gone piled neatly in bankers boxes
• He donated heavily to charities and what he decided were worthy causes. He was top of the list for many and his phone rang constantly. Eventually he learned to answer by mail only, once they got him on a call, his wallet opened.
• He was someone who had an obsessive enthusiasm for doughnut shops.  And yes, there are plenty of photos of doughnut shops from across the country.
• He was a huge supporter of print media. The dining room table and most flat surfaces in the house were used to store his newspapers and magazines until he had an opportunity to read them cover to cover.
  • The Globe & Mail, The Economist, The Ottawa Sun, Model Railroader, MIT Review, Scientific American,  were just some of the publications
• He was always up for a treat; usually ice cream and McDonalds ice cream was a favourite but he knew all the spots on the highway between Montreal & London ON for a good slice of apple pie
• He had a passion for all things trains. In fact, as a student he spent a summer living in a train compartment completing surveys for CN
• He was able to fix anything with duct tape. This ranged from flooring to patching clothes. He was quite innovative!
• Dad truly believed that one man’s trash was another man’s treasure. He “rescued” and restored many items from bicycles, tables, chairs, armoires, If anybody remember his classic style bicycle, that was scooped up in 1974 and served him into his 70s
• He liked to ski and was skiing right up until his 70s.  He loved family trips to Tremblant & occasionally Blue Mountain
• He relished his various roles in the family. He loved being a grandfather or Papa as the grandkids called him.  He always made sure there were toys at the house for visiting kids to play with. In his last year at Carleton Lodge, many of the PSW’s called him Uncle Bill and this brought a big smile to his face.

 

NICK:

 

• He had a pretty impressive collection of model railroad cars, which when we were kids was set up in the basement. We spent hours playing with it. After we moved to Woodlea, he turned to collecting, planning & strategizing the next phase
• He loved to discuss what he read and many dinner conversations were spent exchanging views on current affairs. I will miss this most
• His Boy Scout days served him well, as he liked to camp, fish and hike.  In fact, he was an expert fire-maker.  We all have memories of camping with him, either as our Dad, brother or uncle
• He took his big brother role very seriously, and was a constant support to his 3 sisters and brother.  He was kind, attentive and protective of all his siblings from childhood right up until adulthood.
• Still waters ran deep with my Dad.  He was a man of few words but in times of need or trouble, he could be counted on to provide wise counsel to whoever needed it. When you least expected it, he could surprise you with a pearl of wisdom.
• Those pearls of wisdom twice changed my life (Nick) for the better. One day out of the blue, he told me it was best to move to Toronto, I would do well there. I moved to Etobicoke and have never looked back. He was right
• When my wife Mira & I first started looking for a house we searched all over the outskirts of Toronto and planned our long commutes in. He was listening to us when he said… just buy a house in Etobicoke (as if it was that easy). He said “The time you save will be worth more than the money you save”. I dismissed, he clearly did not understand was my thought. Again, he was right and we figured it out and bought in Etobicoke.
• He loved to travel and his work with ITS gave him lots of opportunities to do so. There were always lots of little souvenirs scattered around the house from his various trips.
• He had a good sense of humour.  This ranged from Monty Python to the Muppet Show to Wayne and Schuster. It was not unusual to hear his loud heart-felt guffaw from the living room if he was watching something.
• He had a certain naivety in his mannerisms. Years ago he told me he’d seen “Pulp Fiction” at the cinema which really surprised me. He did not like violent movies. He admitted that he’d mistaken it for a documentary on the paper industry.
• He loved his coffee as so many Icelanders do. He loved his tea as well, a habit picked up in England. He would put the kettle on, retire to his desk upstairs to poor over some papers, forget the kettle until the whistling eventually broke his concentration, rush down the stairs to prepare the tea, return upstairs only to forget it once again
• He was a night owl, likely fuelled by the late night tea drinking.. He liked to stay up late, reading one of his many books, newspapers, magazines or watching old classic movies.  In his retirement, he embraced this lifestyle.  He took his time getting up in the morning because in all likelihood, he’d been up quite late the night before.

 

What it boils down to is that no matter what role he played in each of our lives, he was a good, kind and patient man.  He had a generous soul and was so appreciative when others did things for him; even though he very rarely asked. He lived his life his way. He will be remembered and he continues to live through his children and grandchildren.

 

MARIA:

 

We’d like to wrap things up with a poem that is especially fitting for our Dad as it speaks to loss, but also hope and re-birth.

 

 

IN THE EMBERS

 

By the flickering light of a fading fire,

We sit and dream of an old desire

Though we know not why, there is something then

That fetches the old things back again

And gazing deep in the dying flames

We think of faces, remember names.

No land is far in the firelight’s glow,

And it isn’t so long to the long ago.

 

There are nights we knew that slipped away,

Like a starlit sky at the dawn of day.

There are days we knew that have westward passed,

For not even the day itself can last.

We think our days and nights are done

With the morning star, and the evening sun,

But when we sit in the firelight here

The past returns, and the loved comes near.

 

There are things we know that we thought forgot,

For the mind forgets, but heart does not.

We shall often sit by the fire like this,

We shall hear a voice, and shall feel a kiss,

We leave old homes, and we lose old friends

We have joy, and it seems to end.

But they all come back when the new things tire,

By the flickering light of a fading fire.