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Bill Skelcher passed away on September
13, 2007. Bill joined CBC Vancouver Radio Technical as a General Operator in 1952, a
year later transferred to Television as a Video Control Operator and was promoted to the
position of Technical Producer in 1955. In 1960, Bill became Technical Operations
Officer and in 1977 he was promoted to Manager, TV Operations. In 1979 he became
Manager, Film Operations - the position he held until his retirement in 1981. |
SKELCHER, Basil Gerald (BILL)
Bill was born in Toronto on January 9,1925. He joined the Canadian Navy in 1943 and served on a frigate in the North Atlantic until the end of the war. He then attended Ryerson College to study electronics. He moved to B.C in 1947 and soon joined the staff of Radio Station CJOR. Most memorable of his time at CJOR was working with Dick Diespecker to cover the terrible Fraser River flood. In 1952, Bill joined CBC Radio and in 1953 was one of a group of technicians sent to Toronto to learn “all about television”. That group formed the base of the technical staff when CBUT began broadcasting in Vancouver in 1953. He was on the site for the blasting of Ripple Rock and for the British Empire Games, which featured the famous Landy – Bannister 4 min. mile. He particularly enjoyed being technical producer on many of the musical productions, such as those featuring Betty Phillips, Ernie Prentice, Eleanor Collins, The Rhythm Pals and many others. He held several positions within CBC until his retirement in 1981. Bill and his wife, Margaret (Haggen), who he married in 1951, moved to the Sunshine Coast in 1980. They spent many enjoyable years golfing, gardening, and travelling until 2002 when Bill was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Bill died from complications of that disease. He passed away peacefully at home on Sept. 13th. He was surrounded by loving family who sent him off in a brand-new t-shirt adorned with the words, “Please, call me BILL.” Besides his wife, he is survived by two sons, Dan of Nanaimo and Bill of West Vancouver and Sechelt and two daughters, Ann Skelcher (Herb Craig) and Nancy Skelcher. He enjoyed his five grandchildren, namely Kevin Skelcher (Bibijana Bennekou) of Victoria, Dani Craig of Guelph Ontario, Hayley Skelcher, Jake Skelcher and Sam Skelcher, all of Nanaimo. He also loved his two great grandchildren, Domenic and Sophie Skelcher of Victoria. He is survived by two sisters, Vivian Ward of Vancouver and Jean McConnell of Victoria. There will be a quiet family celebration of life at the Skelcher’s home in Sechelt at a later date. Donations to Parkinson’s in lieu of flowers.
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