Kanwisher, William, lovingly known as “Bill”, 97, of Ottawa, Ontario, passed away peacefully on Thanksgiving Monday, October 9, 2023, with family by his side. Bill was born March 14, 1926, in Zhitomir, USSR, to Emil and Herta (Breier) Kanwischer. Shortly after his birth, the family emigrated to Canada, and Bill grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia. Bill graduated from John Oliver High School and went on to receive a Bachelor of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering from UBC. He married the love of his life, Grace Worthy, on May 5, 1951, and went on to raise six children, living in Victoria, Washington DC and finally settling in Ottawa, Ontario. He was a very devoted husband and father. Commander William Kanwisher served in the Royal Canadian Navy for twenty years, which included deployment in the Korean war on the destroyer Crusader. After retiring from the navy, he went on to work for the Canadian Department of National Defense, at the Director level. Bill later retired from the public service at the age of 56. A devoted Christian, Bill was a faithful member of Pleasant Park Baptist Church for more than fifty years. He and Grace later changed membership to Bilberry Creek Baptist Church so they could attend with children and grandchildren. He had a love of music, and was able to play the piano and organ. Bill also loved a good game of golf, and played whenever he could. In fact, after retirement he and Grace regularly spent winters in Myrtle Beach so that he could extend his golf season into the winter months. Bill was presented with an award for a Hole-In-One that he achieved in 2006.
Bill is survived by his wife of 72 years, Grace (née Worthy), his dear children; Valerie Wiseman (Alan), Lisee Kiar (Ron), Bobbie Cann (Scott), David (Kim), Kenny, and Janet Nasmith (Charles). He will be lovingly remembered by his 14 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren. Bill is predeceased by his parents, Emil and Herta Kanwischer, along with his brother, Fred and sister, Lillie (Schroeder).
A memorial service will be held at 1:00 PM, Saturday, November 4, 2023 at Beechwood National Memorial Centre, 280 Beechwood Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario. Chaplain Don Collar will officiate. This will be followed by interment at the National Cemetery. There will be a reception to follow.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Ottawa Food Bank in Bill’s memory.
Digital Guestbook
Janet Burns
Ann+Douglas Mott
Holding you Laura+Dave up to the Father for comfort+strength for you + all the family.
Sending much love+many prayers,
Ann+Douglas Mott❤️🫂🙏🕊🌻🎶🙌
Wendy Kiar
So sorry for your loss Lisee and all the Kanwisher family. What a great life he lived… certainly a lot to celebrate… Sending love from Kampala, Uganda 💛
Jony and Gamal Mansour
Our thoughts and prayers with all the family 🙏may God Comfort you all during this difficult time 🙏🙏
Cathy Cuthbert
To all of the Kanwisher family and especially to Grace, I offer my deepest sympathies. As a child and a teenager I lived next door to the Kanwishers when they lived on Fleming Avenue. Mr. Kanwisher only became 'Bill' to me about 20 years ago. I have many memories of Bill, Grace and the family. Sundays Bill would pack all eight Kanwishers into their station wagon for the trip to Pleasent Park Baptist. He did almost every volunteer job possible at Pleasent Park Baptist, where he might be wielding a mop, sitting on a committee or supporting various church functions. Bill was ever so handsome in his Naval uniform. When visiting their home, almost daily, Grace always warmly greeted me and in his own quiet way Bill would acknowledge my arrival. After the death of my father, Bill did not become a father figure to me but rather someone that I knew would always have my back. Bill and Grace are true roll models of lives well lived. Faith, family, friends. Rest Bill.
Lawrence Myles
Dear Val, Kenny, Daiva, and Dana, I wish I could be there at the memorial to give you a comforting hug at the loss of your dad and granddad. He sounds like a wonderful man and I'm sure his loss is great. May the wisdom of knowing that everything arises and everything passes away give you solace.
Céline d'Etcheverry
I am sorry, Janet, that you lost your dad, I remember when I lost mine, it was quite profound. I will pray for his beautiful soul, to help him do the passage to Eternity. I am sure you will see him again and I am looking forward to meeting him myself one day in Eternity: if he is your father, he must be a very very nice person.
Lim Family
Dear Janet,
Our condolences to you and your whole Family.
Through Christ, our Precious Redeemer and Risen Messiah, we have Hope - Gift of Eternal Life!
May you be comforted.
Sincerely with Love,
Ching and Susan and Family
I can honestly say that I knew Mr.K from almost the time I was born. Our families became close through church and our parents shared a lifelong friendship, especially after we became neighbours living on the same street. I have so many wonderful memories of the times we spent together as families and us kids hanging around with each other. Ironic that we both ended up with not only two Dave's but also two Janet Lynne's.
I always got a kick out of Mr. K when my siblings and I would be at your house. When Mr. K had had enough, he would not only tell us to go home but also would say for his kids to go with us and bug Mr. Burns.
Christmas eves spent with each other as well as the Nasmith family were the highlight of my year. How I miss those times.