Obituary of William Gordon Irving

William (Bill) Irving told his last joke on Jan 31, 2023. He drove off into the sunset, with a medium double-double in one hand, a butter tart in the other, listening to the Beatles on the car stereo. Bill was the third child of Charles and Thelma Irving of Halifax, NS. He leaves behind his brothers Charlie, Gary, Brian and Paul Irving, and his sisters Maralyn DeRose and Carol Brokken, all of whom will miss Bill’s sense of humour. His American nephew Robert will miss political debates, and his American niece Kristen will miss his lengthy phone calls updating her of life in Canada. His daughter Catherine will miss his unsolicited volumes of advice, their backgammon and cribbage games, and serving as his chauffeur to Home Depot where they would purchase things he is sure she should have but will probably never use. He had five passions. He loved the Beatles, and was delighted to go to England and sit in the Cavern Club in 2014. He loved cars, and his time slaloming with the Atlantic Motorsport Car Club gave him fond memories and decades-old friendships. He gave many of his younger years serving as a volunteer firefighter starting with the Fairview Volunteers, and then working his way up to Chief at the Hatchett Lake Volunteer Fire department. He was weirdly obsessed with the Toronto Blue Jays. But lastly, his main passion was the passion he felt for his family. Picnics with family at Bayswater beach, Christmases eating Rabbit Pie and playing Scat, Bill never missed an opportunity to be the family comic and keep everyone either rolling their eyes or laughing, depending on how bad his jokes were. Cremation has taken place, and I am sure Bill would like to offer his gratitude to the wonderful staff at the Queen Elizabeth 2 hospital, where he spent a good portion of the last year telling really bad jokes to the nurses, and complaining about the coffee. Following his wishes, there will not be a service, but memorial donations to the Nova Scotia Fire Fighter’s Burn Treatment Society would be graciously welcomed.