The Lloydminster Concerned Citizens for Seniors Care Society honoured the legacy of former member Bill Till with a $500 donation to Border City Connects. File Photo
Bill Till was known as a mover and shaker on seniors’ healthcare issues in Lloydminster.
His reputation for coming up with solutions prior to his passing last April was recognized during the annual general meeting of the Concerned Citizens for Seniors Care Society at the Legacy Centre on Monday.
His wife, Gene, and daughters Barb Wiebe and Margo Till-Rogers, were in attendance to participate in the tribute while his son Bruce sent an email thanking the group for honouring his dad.
“Our condolences to you Gene, Barb and Margo and the rest of your family,” said Seniors Care Society president Graham Brown in his opening remarks.
“Today, we are making a $500 contribution to Border City Connects in the name of Bill Till. Bill was a contributing member to our group for many years and was still a board member at his passing.”
He is best known for getting the ball rolling on improving paramedic service for both sides of our border city.
“In the following years led by Bill, we were able to get paramedics and one set of protocols,” stated Brown.
He noted WPD Ambulance was very appreciative of Till’s leadership on that issue and invited him to their Christmas party.
“Bill’s counsel was always concise, clear and to the point. He was always looking for solutions,” noted Brown.
Wiebe took a moment to thank the seniors’ group for encouraging her dad to be a part of the group, which helped her to see her father in a different light.
“I had the privilege of attending meetings with dad, and to me he was our dad, and then you came here and you realized how important he was to the people of this group and how important all of you were to him,” she said.
“I left with a different sense of who my dad was and what he contributed to our community.”
Brown fondly recalled Till was always late for their weekly meetings because he delivered Meals on Wheels, but he liked to be close to the front where he could hear.
“So we always had a reserved chair for him at the front. Len Pryor was always late so we had him on the other side,” said Brown with a laugh.
Till-Rogers took a moment to remind the AGM her dad was a man of conviction and was not shy about sharing his opinion.
She says in the seniors’ group, he found other people who wanted to be a part of a solution.
The tribute was especially touching for Bill’s widow who added a few words of her own.
“My husband is missed more than I can say. He was very dedicated to this group. He expressed his feelings very freely. There was never any doubt in what he was thinking and we miss him. Thank you,” she said.
The AGM agenda also approved the nomination of Brown, Jon Erkelens and Leanne Sauer to three-year terms on the executive.
Marianne Stenkey was nominated for a two-year term to replace Nolda Wood, who stepped down.
The Seniors Care Society will break soon for a summer recess and reconvene on Sept. 13 with an agreement by Saskatchewan Health Authority and Alberta Health Services to resume the Continuing Care Space Working Group.
Both health services met with the Seniors Care Society in 2019 to identify the need for 60 long-term care spaces by 2025 and another 148 spaces by 2035 in Lloydminster.
“We look forward to restarting this committee and working to expand the number of long-term spaces in Lloydminster,” said Brown.
He notes there is also a need to get a dialysis unit to get built and to keep expanding mental health services.
Brown adds the ambulance service is still in a state of flux while they are working on a contract issue with the local provider, but that needs to get sorted out as well.”
