Mumford, William John “Bill”

William “Bill” John Mumford decided to leave us on Monday, October 24, 2022, at the age of 80 which in his words “is pretty damn good”.

It was a beautiful day and he had enough of laying in bed and forgetting everything. He also wasn’t pleased about the impending move to Meadowbrook Retirement Community. So, he did what he has always done and got his way in the most passive way possible. He picked a beautiful day, so his kids could travel up safely and took his last breath.

He wouldn’t want any of us to be sad. He had a great life. He was born in Creighton (which he believed was just about the best place to be from) on September 12, 1942. His parents Earl Mumford Sr. and Aino Mumford had three children. Bill fell into the sweet ‘middle child’ spot between his older sister Patricia and younger brother Earl. He spent his childhood at camp, playing badminton, then spending more time at camp and being the self-imposed project manager to his younger brother Earl, which carried on their whole life. His older sister loved him immensely but was less interested in being directed.

Bill met the love of his life, Elizabeth “Betty” Davenport at a party at camp and he was smitten. He went onto marry her and have three children: Jeff, Greg & Sharon. All of them have wonderful memories with their dad except when it came to cooking. Never mention scrambled eggs around them.

He was a storyteller. Some of those stories were good and a lot of them were about the cars he drove. We know he went to college in Toronto, but no one is sure where or what he studied because he only talked about the car he drove that got him there and back. If you ever needed money, a drive somewhere or a substandard test signed- you just needed to ask about the wood running boards on his GMC Jimmy in the driveway. An hour later there was $10 in your pocket and the D+ math test signed and ready to go!

He was an enigma really. Not once did I ever know the man to fish but there was a huge swordfish over the fireplace at camp that he happened to catch on his honeymoon. He wasn’t a traveler, but still thought it was a great idea to take his wife and three young children on a camping trip to Florida for a month with only a tent trailer and a Plymouth Fury to pull it. He wasn’t a chef, but swore he made the best hamburgers out there: A particularly sophisticated recipe of eggs, crackers and ground beef wrapped lovingly in Saran Wrap and thrown in the freezer.

Most of all he was known for his kindness and patience. He didn’t care who you were or where you were from, everyone would get a chance to listen to his great adventure to pick up a Chevrolet Blazer in Arizona which was the Deal of the Century. During his hey-day he was known to be seen with a golden retriever in that Blazer and probably heading to the dump.

He was an amazing family man and loved all of us equally, except for maybe his dogs. He will be missed by his grandkids: Tyler, Julia, Maya, Olivia, Lily, Ben and Hannah.

There is so much to say and so many stories to tell so we are planning to have a Celebration of Life in the spring at camp. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you do something kind for someone unexpectedly. Bill would like that.