William David Dauphinee

It is with profound sadness Bill’s family announces his passing on May 19, 2025.

Bill was born on August 29, 1946 and was the only child of Dave and Elaine Dauphinee. Bill grew up in his family home on the shores of the Seymour River in North Vancouver, where he spent idyllic summers swimming and fishing with friends. Though multi generations in B.C., Bill’s Canadian roots go all the way back to 1752 when two brothers Jean and David Dauphinee arrived in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia from France. If you know Bill, you know he loved golf and so it is fitting that the old Dauphinee homestead is on Hole #5 of Highlands Links Golf Course in Ingonish, Nova Scotia.

After high school, Bill attended UBC and received a Mathematics degree, then a Licentiate in Accounting before articling and receiving his Chartered Accountant designation in 1975. He worked for a short stint at CRA before embarking on his own practice doing accounting for small businesses. Bill loved accounting and built a very successful practice. His clients could always rely on his hard work, knowledge, honesty and integrity. Those qualities always mattered to Bill and it was evident in the loyalty of his clients, many of whom became lifelong friends.

Bill joined the Vancouver Rotary Club in 1983 and quickly became very involved in several aspects of the club donating both his time and money to many worthy causes. He was the accountant and treasurer for the Club and its Foundations for 25+ years; he was an integral part of the Rotary Hearing Foundation Bike-a-Thon for well over 30 years, as well as a key member organizing the Rotary Curling on Mondays, together with the annual bonspiel. He was a strong supporter of the Rotary Club’s “Raise a Reader” and “Adopt a School” program and received two Paul Harris Awards for his dedication to volunteerism.

In addition to his philanthropic activities with Rotary, Bill participated in the many social events the Club put on. Bill felt fellowship was the linchpin to a successful club, so he and his wife Wendy happily hosted the annual Christmas party for more than 15 years before COVID mandated a stoppage. Regrettably, Bill was diagnosed with cancer before the party could start up again.

Bill was an avid sports fan. He played football and hockey in leagues in his youth with curling and golf becoming his later passions. He started the “Thursday Golf Group” and kept the statistics of its upwards of 15 members. In addition to his activities in Rotary Curling, Bill also joined several other curling leagues over the years.

Bill attended his beloved BC Lions games for decades, having taken over his parents’ tickets from 1953.

With the diagnosis of an aggressive cancer in 2021, Bill reluctantly cut back on the work he loved both professionally and in his extracurricular activities. While he tried to keep curling and golfing for as long as he could, Bill eventually had to give up first curling and later golf when even using a golf cart was no longer possible. Always looking out for everyone else and never wanting to be a burden to anyone, Bill faced this challenge with an unimaginable amount of courage and strength.

Bill leaves behind many dear friends whom he accumulated along the way through curling, golfing, Rotary Club and through his business. Our sincere gratitude to all those friends who came by for cribbage and card games with Bill or just came to spend time with him.

Bill is forever in our hearts. Bill was the beloved husband of Wendy, father to Randa and grandfather to Connor and Kyra.

A Celebration of Life is scheduled in early September 2025 at the Terminal City Club. Please email wendy@dauphinee.ca for details if you wish to attend.

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