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December 25, 1930 - July 27, 2022
In loving memory ~
Bill died peacefully at home of natural causes, with his wife Clara holding his hand, and family members and a close family friend present. He was 91.
He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, in his mother and father's original home country. At the time, his family was living in Birch Lake, Saskatchewan, and his mother Bergetta had travelled south to the States to have the birth. He was born in his Grandma Houghlum's house.
He is survived by his wife Clara Lakevold (Demko); his sons Dale Lakevold and Merrill Lakevold; his grandchildren Vanya Hanson, Annika Lakevold, Cal Lakevold, and Kendra Lakevold; his great-granddaughter Njiba Hanson Kalala; his sister Barbara Bawden (Lakevold); his nieces and nephews George Bawden & Sue Bawden: Ken Beresford & Yupha Beresford; Marty Beresford & Susanne Tuson; Leslie Beros & Lori Beros; Betty Kruse (Bawden) & Denis Kruse; Bonnie Oldring (Bawden) & John Oldring: and Peggy Simank (Beros) & Bill Simank; Debbie Beros; and many other relatives and friends. He is predeceased by his parents Bergetta Lakevold (Houghlum) and William Norence Lakevold; his mother- and father-in-law Margaret Demko (Galgoczi) and Martin Demko; his sisters-in-law Gizella Beresford (Demko) and Margaret Beros (Demko); his brothers-in-law Hugh Bawden, Norman Beresford, and George Beros; and his nephew Wayne Beros, and Wayne and Debbie's son Gregory Beros.
At his request, no funeral or memorial services will be held.
Bill was of Norwegian extraction on both sides of his family. He grew up in the northern Canadian bush country of Saskatchewan and Alberta for the first seventeen years of his life. They were formative years for him. He grew up with a deep respect for the land - for its trees, forests, lakes, rivers, animals, and all living things. This respect carried over into everything he did and with everyone he met throughout his life.
He attended the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon where he obtained an Engineering degree. At the U of S, he lived in the residence of the Lutheran Seminary College on campus and made many lifelong friends during his four years there. He married his wife Clara Demko on September 15, 1956, in Eastend, Saskatchewan, and they remained lovingly devoted to each other for some 65 years.
Bill worked as City Engineer in Brandon, Manitoba, from 1957-1971; as Engineering Director in Kelowna from 1972-1983; and as Director of Engineering for the Township of Langley, BC, from 1983-1993. In each of the cities that he worked in, he was deeply committed to the ideals of public service. He retired in 1993, and remained in Langley.
In 1976 Bill and Clara found a rustic A-frame cabin at Mabel Lake, BC. It would become their own bit of paradise, a cabin accessible only by boat, situated on a deep-water lake with inland salmon swimming past their front door each summer. After retirement, they would spend every May to October at the lake. Over the years they became deeply attached to a wide circle of friends and neighbours in the Mabel Lake community.
Bill was an active and faithful member of the Lutheran church wherever he lived. In Brandon and Kelowna, the family attended Redeemer Lutheran and Christ Lutheran respectively. In Langley, Bill and Clara were devoted members of Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran.
Bill was a kind, gentle, compassionate, and selfless person, and he touched the lives of many, many people. He saw the good in everyone he met. There were times when he brought home strangers in need to give them meals and a bed for as long as they needed. One bitterly cold, blizzardy night in Brandon, he rescued a man who had fallen and was lying in the snow alongside the road. The man could barely be seen from the road, but Bill could somehow make out the man's form under the snow. Bill went out and helped the man into the car then took the man to hospital.
Bill lived a good, long life, always putting the needs and well-being of others before himself. He will be missed deeply and remembered with love.
Condolences may be sent to hendersonslangleyfunerals.com.

Hendersons Langley Funerals


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