William “Bill” Bus
December 25, 2025
BUS, William “Bill” – Surrounded by his family, Bill passed away at the Louise Marshall Hospital on Thursday, December 25, 2025 in his 95th year.
Predeceased by his beloved wife Gertrude Bus (2002). Survived by his wife, Alida Smart. Cherished Dad of Anna & Ed Vander Veen, the late Ralph Bus (2016), Liz & Charlie Bryan, Barb & Kent Sterling, Claudia & Steve DeHaan, and Christine & Moe Hickey. Loving Opa of Chris & Andrea, Darren & Lisa, Nikki & Dylan, Josh & Dana, Jacob & Justyna, Rachel & Kelby, Emma & Kyle, Jordan, Ethan, Noah & Laura, Jesse & Hayly, Jason, Rebekah, Esther & Josh, Carter, and Megan; and Great-Opa of Max, Owen, Lucy, Jackson, Parker, Ellie-Anna, Claire, Charlie, Autumn, and Brecken. Dear brother of Jus and Goossen (Reina); and brother-in-law of Trijn, and Aafke. Predeceased by his siblings: Eisse, Piet (Tine), Aaltje (Piet), and John.
Bill immigrated to Canada in 1952 with $18.00 in his pocket. He met his wife Gertrude and married in 1960. He was a life-long and dedicated farmer and seed salesman, working right until his passing. Bill was a leader in his community and church. He loved birds, plants, tending to his garden and curling. Bill was a man of faith and a member of Monck Baptist Church. He cherished his family and was incredibly proud of his children and grandchildren.
Visitation will be held at the England Funeral Home, 294 Main Street South, Mount Forest, on Sunday, December 28th from 1:00-4:00 p.m. The funeral service will be held at Faith Baptist Church, 485 King Street East, Mount Forest, on Monday, December 29th at 11:00 a.m., with visitation at the church from 10:00-10:45 a.m. Following the service, everyone is welcome to remain at the church for refreshments and fellowship. Spring interment will take place at Grand Valley Union Cemetery. For those unable to attend the service in person, you are invited to view livestream by clicking on the link below Bill's obituary. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Louise Marshall Hospital Foundation or Thrive Disability Access. Donations and online condolences may be made at www.englandfuneralhome.com
Funeral Service for William "Bill" Bus
Condolences
Our deepest sympathy to all of Bill's family and friends. It has been a pleasure caring for your eyes over the years.
Sincerely,
Headwaters Optometry, Dr. Brodie & Associates
Our deepest sympathy to all of Bill's family and friends. It has been an absolute pleasure to have gotten to know Bill even if for a short while. Bill was a wonderful gentleman. He will certainly be missed.
Sincerely,
Debra and all the staff of Birmingham Retirement Community
Lieve familie, gecondoleerd met het verlies van Bill. We wensen jullie veel kracht en sterkte met dit verlies en we zijn in gedachten bij jullie.
Harry en Inge
Gecondoleerd
— Harry, January 1, 2026Bill was like a father to me after my dad passed and I worked on the Bus farm for 5 summers. I will never forget his kindness, advice and sense of humour. His family was also like a second family to me when I needed it the most.
Mark Proulx
proulxm10@gmail.com
416-294-5938
Gecondoleerd. En heel veel sterkte gewenst!
Petra en bennie
April 2002 we immigrated from Groningen the Netherlands to Grand Valley onto the same road as where Bill was living.
Bill was curious who had moved to the Edward’s farm, so he visited us and from that moment on, Bill and Gerda were like an opa and oma to our kids .
I can still see them sitting at our kitchen table for supper , in our tiny kitchen with 2 big smiles .
That same year , Gerda passed away all of a sudden.
Bill was Lonely 😢 and sad.
So there were lots of visits, back and forth , he tried to come to all our birthday parties, Halloween and Christmas parties, he came to all the weddings in Alberta, Quebec and close to Ottawa .
From the wedding came a new wedding, Bill’s wedding with Alida . Now he became our uncle .
We took him to Great Wolf Lodge, to Saskatoon in our motor home where he showed us were he had lived and worked .
A Trip to the Netherlands 🇳🇱. Our family lives in the same town as Bill’s family .
Bill was our judge at our Christmas party’s for whom made the nicest secret Santa . We had lots of good times and laughs.
Peter and Bill loved to talk together in their Gronings dialect, Bill would smile from ear to ear.
He was also our seed salesman and gave us good advice.
Bill was also very understanding and patient and would stay in contact daily to make sure that one of our kids was okay .
Dear family Bus,
We are so thankful for to get to know your dad,
We wish you all strength in this difficult time.
We are going to miss Bill so much
Rest in peace Bill .
Bill was a wonderful man. He will be deeply missed and cherished by all. He always brightened up my day when I seen him in town or on the farm growing up. Bill and his family will always be in my heart . My condolences to the family.
— Katherine Pott, December 29, 2025Bill Sower of Good Seed. Sowing Seeds of Faith in Christ Through his Children and his Grand children, and Great grandchildren. Always looking at Missons, spreading the Love of Christ.
— Bruce Atkinson, December 29, 2025We’ve lost one of the good ones. Bill will be missed but not forgotten.❤️
— Pat and Jeff Firth, December 29, 2025As the days pass, the memories will surface and remind you that you have treasures to comfort you in the days to come. May they bring a smile! My deepest condolences to the entire family.
— Elaine Simpson, December 29, 2025My deepest sympathy to the family....such a nice man. You can be confident that he is in the arms of Jesus!
— Debbie Atkinson, December 29, 2025We were so sad to hear of Bills passing. He was one of the first to welcome us into the neighborhood. Always a friendly smile and lots of conversation and fun. We’d always be here waiting for him to show up to sell some seed! He’ll be missed. Our condolences.
George & Dawn
Dear Bus family,
I just wanted to add my voice to those of others in sharing condolences. I've know Bill and the family for a long time and have many pleasant memories of Bill. He has left a wonderful legacy.
And like you, mourn his going home to his heavenly father. Strength and peace in the time to come.
Dear Bus Family,
Our deepest condolences to all of you with the passing of Bill.
I had the pleasure and honor of living with him for a year from August 2008 until August 2009.
I remember Bill as honest, sincere, straightforward with a lot of humor and a bit of stubbornness. He reminded me a lot of my own Opa Eisse. Bill was fearless concerning large issues and didn’t bother about not bother with insignificant issues. I loved listening to his stories about his life and stories about his brothers. He was always ready to lend a hand or give advice when needed. He wasn’t afraid to speak his mind and stubborn as we both were, we would sometimes have discussions in which we would agree to disagree. :) Thank you Bill for making a fantastic time in my life possible.
We are wishing the rest of the family, friends and loved ones all the love and strength in this time of loss and grief.
I am sad that you are gone, but I am privileged to have known you.
Goodbye Bill 🙏🏻❤️🌟
Love,
Erif, Lizette and Isabel-Louise
Donkerbos 13, 6626 KW Alphen
I think of Bill as a sower of Good Seed. Sowing of Faith in Christ through his Children, his Grandchildren, and now his Great grandchildren. Always looking at Missons .
— Bruce Atkinson, December 29, 2025To the whole Bus family,
Your Dad will be greatly missed. I feel like he was like a second Dad to me growing up. The memories we shared growing up have shaped who I am today. I’m so sorry we couldn’t make it there today. Big hugs to all. Love Denise
Dear Bus Family
Words cannot express how sad we were when we heard of your Dad’s dying. We have so many good memories which we will forever cherish in our hearts, you know many of them. A man who always was smiling, happy ( i’m sure he got angry the odd time), honest, always caring, had deep faith, always remember him telling our monthly men’s coffee group after some intense discussion, “Don’t worry guys, God is in control” and just smile, he had no worries about world issues.
We pray the the Lord will uphold you during this time of grieve, missing, adjusting and moving forward without him, but just remember, God is in control, he will comfort you and uphold you and walk beside you.
Our sincere condolences with love, Bill and Ida Prins. ❤️
April 2002 we immigrated from Groningen the Netherlands to Grand Valley onto the same road as where Bill was living.
Bill was curious who had moved to the Edward’s farm, so he visited us and from that moment on, Bill and Gerda were like an opa and oma to our kids .
I can still see them sitting at our kitchen table for supper , in our tiny kitchen with 2 big smiles .
That same year , Gerda passed away all of a sudden.
Bill was Lonely 😢 and sad.
So there were lots of visits, back and forth , he tried to come to all our birthday parties, Halloween and Christmas parties, he came to all the weddings in Alberta, Quebec and close to Ottawa .
From the wedding came a new wedding, Bill’s wedding with Alida . Now he became our uncle .
We took him to Great Wolf Lodge, to Saskatoon in our motor home where he showed us were he had lived and worked .
A Trip to the Netherlands 🇳🇱. Our family lives in the same town as Bill’s family .
Bill was our judge at our Christmas party’s for whom made the nicest secret Santa . We had lots of good times and laughs.
Peter and Bill loved to talk together in their Gronings dialect, Bill would smile from ear to ear.
He was also our seed salesman and gave us good advice.
Bill was also very understanding and patient and would stay in contact daily to make sure that one of our kids was okay .
Dear family Bus,
We are so thankful for to get to know your dad,
We wish you all strength in this difficult time.
We are going to miss Bill so much
Rest in peace Bill .
From the van der Veen family
Grand Valley
Goossen & Reina Bus
Condolence
Our brother, we will miss your calls
Thesingerweg 23
Roelf & leonie bus
Joost, wouter, nathalie
Uncle Willem, we will miss you
Thesingerweg 17
Our deepest condolences on the loss of your father
Roel & Fenny Bus
Oudeweg 172
Siddeburen (Netherlands)
Such sad news. A true loss of a friend and neighbour. We send our deepest condolences to all the family.
Thinking of you.
We are so sorry for your loss Rach and family. Thinking of you all during this difficult time.
Love, Maddy, Dal, Jen, Martsy, Jaz, Sheri, Nicole, Shelby, Brooke, Meg, Carleen
Dear Bus family,
We are thinking of you and praying for you in the the loss of Bill. He was a dedicated and wonderful man in the community of Grand Valley. He touched many lives. May the Lord hold you close as you go through this difficult time and the weeks ahead. The memories of your Dad, grandfather and great- grandfather will be precious to you as you remember him.
Art and Marion Taylor, Bryan and Krista Taylor and the entire family
My condolences to Liz and Charlie and the rest of the family. Bill was always a pleasure to talk to. He had a sense of humor and a down to earth view on life. We have lost another one of those great East Luther characters that have shaped my upbringing. We will all miss him.
— John Landman, December 28, 2025Bill loved life. He loved people; there were no strangers, only friends he hadn't met yet. He loved his family. And he loved his Lord. "Opa Cow" (as opposed to "Opa Candy") to his first grandson, he was the biggest kid there for all his grandchildren's birthday parties and school events. Always smiling, with a warm handshake or a heartfelt hug, he found great pleasure in being with others, sharing a meal, a laugh, a story. While the infirmities of age may have slowed him down "a bit", he remained alert, aware and enthusiastic until the end. Godspeed, Bill, your legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of all who knew you.
— Ted (aka Oege) and Judy, December 27, 2025Our sincere condolences to the fam. Our memories are many. May you find peace and comfort in our Heavenly Father.
— Alice groen, December 27, 2025Bill was one of my heroes. While serving the people of East Luther at County Council, he treated each issue with complete consideration for the ordinary citizen, and approached each person with respect and sincerity. He always had time to talk to me and was always a source of news about the people 'back home'. He was, quite simply, a wonderful man who loved his community and his friends, of which I am proud I was one! My thoughts are with the family and thank them for sharing this wonderful man with so many people who loved him dearly.
— Wayne Townsend, December 27, 2025Dear Bus family;
Our deepest condolences with the loss of your incredible father, grandfather and great grand father. May the Lord surround every one of you during this time of saying goodbye, and may His peace be with each one of you. Our thoughts and prayers.
So sad to hear the passing of Bill... I have such fond memories of time with you all at the farm growing up!!
Sending my love and peace during this time!!
Passionate, competitive, inspiring, and relentless, all mixed with compassion, that was the Bill Bus we knew and worked with over many decades. May his entire family take pride and comfort in his compelling life story.
Liz and Charlie, we send our deepest condolence's to you and your family on the loss of your father. He was a great man. Heaven just got another beautiful angel.
— Joyce and Shane Hebert, December 26, 2025So sorry for your loss…
My deepest sympathies to the family.
— Gloria Duern, December 26, 2025.jpg)