Surrounded by his family, we are saddened to announce the passing Wolfgang ‘Willy’ Wenzel, aged 84, who peacefully transitioned from this life to the next, and joined the Angels on November 5, 2024.
After immigrating to Canada from Germany at the age of 12, without a solid ability to speak or read the language, he soon left the challenges of the education system at 14 to join the workforce. Willy held many and varied jobs: from a bicycle telegraph delivery boy to a kitchen steward / deckhand / wheelsman on ships in the Great Lakes, to an industrial electrician working on remote pole-line developments and in mines across NWO, and then to a welder on heavy machinery repairs and on railcar manufacturing. He was so hard-working, a true self-taught tradesman across every field to which life needed tending and he schooled his children to be just as industrious.
As a newly married man, Willy introduced his wife to his hobby of racing homing pigeons which he bred and raised in their backyard. Anything that he put his energy to was done to the best of his abilities and this showed in the numerous race championships that he won.
Willy was a staunch protector of his family, but also of those who were vulnerable to the bullying by others or the failure to include everyone equally in opportunities. He led his life by example, doing unto others as he would have done onto him, actively defending and promoting righteousness. He was generous to a fault, a true family-man who assisted in-laws and outlaws like. Willy was a dedicated son and a devout Catholic disciple.
Hockey was a big part of his life, and he participated in his own way to the fullest. Always going the extra mile, Willy ensured that not only his son and team had the sharpest skates to play on, but that their competitors did too, with the thought of the best performance by all would then reflect the truest outcome. His basement was a constant buzz of skates being run across the sharpening machines with a skill second to none. Willy would listen to the questions of parents, eager to get that extra edge, and would even go watch those children skate in order to execute a custom sharpening technique. Patsy would often greet Willy when he arrived home from work with laundry baskets filled with various teams’ skates – all who appreciated the care, precision and excellence of the ‘Blade Runner’.
Fishing always played a big part of his life. Time was spent adventuring with the family on various lakes around the region, teaching us all to be wary of his unique approaches to casting and setting the hook. These extreme methods and intense techniques kept everyone laughing and ironically ensured the preservation of the fish population wherever he was trolling. He looked forward to spending summers at camp, initially at Lac des Milles Lacs and then at Whitefish Lake where he enjoyed boating with his son and later, dock-casting with his wife.
Willy is survived by Patsy, his loving wife of an unbelievable 59 beautiful years, his daughter Beth Boon (granddaughter Olivia), his son Gary Wenzel (granddaughter Liz), his brother Werner ‘Joe’ Wenzel and sister Judith Monteith-Farrell, and many in-laws, nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Helmut and Elisabeth Wenzel, and brother Eckart ‘Paul’ Wenzel.
Special thanks to Doctors Golrokhian-Rani, Zaib, de Bakker, Bezanson, Migay, the Nursing and Technician superheroes at TBRHSC in the Emergency Ward and on 2A, and the incredibly respectful Nurses at St Joe’s on 4N Hospice. Heartfelt appreciation to RNP Marlene Wandel of NorWest Community Health Centre, Dietician Lindsay Johns of SJCG and the VON Homecare Nurses for all of their collective efforts.
No visitation is scheduled. Interment and a celebration of life to be announced at a later date. At Willy’s request, those wishing join his family in participating in regular weekday mass service can do so on Wednesday, November 13, 2024 at 12:10 pm at St. Agnes Catholic Church on Brown Street. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer Society of Thunder Bay or the TBRHSC Northern Cancer Fund.
