Surrounded by loved ones in the same hospital where he was born (St. Boniface in Winnipeg), Bill Rademaker went to be with his Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ on July 18th, 2024. Bill was survived by his loving wife Carla, son Chris (Jodi), son Corey (Nicole), daughter Charlotte (Zack), and stepson Joel (Colleen), stepdaughter Kristen (Dave), stepson Jonathan (Kimberly).
Bill’s grandchildren were his treasure and he loved you all deeply: Amelia, Milo, Norah, Ziggy, Benji & Isaac, and his step-grandchildren: Joshua, Lucas, Anemone, Haven & Willow.
Bill is also survived by his brothers John (Violet) and Fred (Donna) as well as his late wife Helen’s siblings: George, Mary (Earl), Anne (Eric), Nettie (Mark), Tina, Linda (Ken), Olga & Rick. Also, he is survived by step-siblings Ernie (Joyce), Astrid (Tony), and Paul (Pam). Paul was Bill’s childhood friend and link to bringing Carla into his life, a blessed & wonderful marriage that neither one predicted for themselves. Carla’s late husband George and Helen smiled on their partnership from beyond.
Bill leaves behind a rabble of cherished nieces & nephews & cousins & really good friends, as well as hospitality staff, clerks & ticket-takers all over Winnipeg who he got to know very well in the brief moments they had with him (especially after he memorized greetings in sixteen different languages - always presented with a smile). No matter where you were from, he was proud to welcome you with “have a good one!” in your own language.
Bill also loved music, a gifted perfect-pitch pianist. His most-played instrument was the Rhodes electric keyboard, but he also sang, played flute and acoustic guitar, as well as composed many works throughout his life. Singing with a number of quartets over the years (The Spokesmen, Muddy River, New Covenant) was his favourite form of ministry, followed closely by leading worship at Grant Memorial Baptist Church (as well as playing music/acting in countless Living Christmas Tree & Easter Productions) and later singing in Faith to Live by German recordings.
Bill would always be busy with projects from Kitchen Craft, or after retirement, his own crafts, and award-winning art pieces, and as much as he “worked”, he also revelled in “play” (and ice cream stops at BDI!). From the traditional canasta nights with the Wittenbergs & Balackos to unplanned jam sessions with Oxyde, Freeman, The Attics, Farfetched… and many more Wallace bands, he was a child at heart. And that heart was always at play - cake-walkers, playing the infamous board game Ulcers with John, Darryl, Chris, Corey, Charlotte, Nicole & Christian (even Galen & Dmitri at one point) and Scrabble battles at the cabins over the years at Lac Lu & Clearwater Bay.
He rarely missed an opportunity to dunk his kids in hotel pools on many an adventurous family vacation all around North America. He loved jovial Beatles songs most of all, a skill he exhibited on his surprise 60th birthday party when Chris arranged a Beatles cover band (double setlist!) for Bill to perform with completely unrehearsed. Turned out, all of his keyboard work was flawless throughout the show (he was even correcting the practiced band at times) but then we handed him the flute, and well, he was a little rusty…
When it came to long-distance bonding with his grandchildren, his specialty was sending boisterous music videos and low-bass happy birthday performances - merely the tip of the iceberg of slides, pictures & videos he passed down to us (and not just of his goofy endeavours, but also countless family Christmases, weddings, family gatherings in Oakbank & Steinbach, Ulcers games, Quartet performances, kids & grandkids, and of course, Helen & Carla).
With heaviest hearts we say goodbye to our beloved father, grandfather, husband, uncle, cousin, friend and Big Tree, Bill Rademaker.
He is now in heaven where he always said he’d be dancing down paved streets made of Nanaimo bar and gravel roads made of Oma’s (& later Debra’s) exquisite appleplatz, with predeceased loved ones Helen (Momom); OmaR&OpaR and OmaE&OpaE; Henry, Joyce, nieces Heather&Madison, cousin Ernie, and Pasha, his loyal, prize-winning afghan pooch.
The family would like to deeply and sincerely thank the cardiologists and medical staff in the Acute Cardio Care Unit at St. Boniface Hospital, who cared so well for Bill. Their expertise, care and concern, not only for Bill, but for the family, was amazing. Bill also received wonderful care from his long term cardiologist Dr. R. Kroeker, thank you so much.
To all who loved & supported him who we forgot to mention, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Viewing will be held on Tuesday, July 23 from 7:00 p.m.- 9:00 p.m. at Friends Funeral Service, 2146 Main Street, Winnipeg. Memorial Service will be held on Wednesday July 24, at 2:00 p.m. at Grant Memorial Church, 877 Wilkes Avenue, Winnipeg.
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