William "Bill" Wightman

On Monday, July 13, 2026, our beloved Father, Grandfather and Great Grandfather passed away peacefully in the Altona Hospital at the age of 85 years old.

Bill was born on December 31, 1940 in Emerson, Manitoba. He was predeceased by Judy, his wife and best friend of 61 years, his parents Ted and Elsie Wightman, his in-laws Herbert and Flora Easter, daughter-in-law Stacey Wightman, brothers-in-law Darrell Peterson, Gene James, Gary Easter, Dale Hanson, Bob Matthews and Gary Wilke.

Bill is survived and will be fondly remembered and missed by his children: Shelly (Jeff) Rodewald, Bill (Ann) Wightman, Julie (Carl) Ostberg and Brandie (Tim) Lazaruk, by 12 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren. He is also survived by his brothers Edward (Mary) Wightman, John (Lisa) Wightman, sisters Connie James , Pat Peterson, sisters-in-law Joanne Easter, Donna Mills, Cheryl Wenstad, Kathy Wilke and many many nieces and nephews.

Bill was a lifelong resident of Emerson where he was baptized into the St. Luke's Anglican Church in Emerson and attended the Emerson Elementary and High Schools. He met and married the love of his life, Judy Easter on July 23, 1960.

After school, Bill worked at various jobs before attending barber school. He worked in Winnipeg for a couple of years before moving back to Emerson where he bought the local barber shop. After cutting hair for a number of years, he got a job with Plains Western Gas (Centra Gas) where he spent 27 years until his retirement in 1999. During his retirement years, he was kept busy helping his children and grandchildren with painting, mudding and carpentry.

Bill was a volunteer with the Emerson Fire and Ambulance Department, Meals on Wheels program, coached the local hockey and baseball teams, spent an endless amount of hours watching kids playing hockey and baseball, played oldtimers hockey and was also a member of the Lions Club. His real joy was hunting, fishing and camping where he spent endless amount of hours with his friends, children and grandchildren especially teaching the grandchildren the art of hunting and fishing and playing cards and cribbage. His "happy place" was at Buffalo Point where he had a seasonal camp spot for a number of years.

A special thank you to Dr. Offor, Palliative Care Nurse Kathryn Heppner, the nursing staff at the Altona Hospital and to Trevor Groening and his staff at Wiebe's Funeral Home for their help, compassion and comfort during this difficult time. There will be no funeral service as per Bill's wishes. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Emerson Fire and Rescue Emergency Services. Arrangements entrusted to Wiebe's Funeral Home of Altona, MB.

Some called him a Good Man, some called him a Legend: 

We just called him "Grandpa"