William was born April 1, 1967 at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria. He was the youngest of four children. He had two brothers, Nai Chuck Kwan, Nai Yuen Kwan, and one sister, Susan Leung.
William grew up in Victoria on Gladstone Street with three generations of family. He attended George Jay Elementary, Central Middle School and Oak Bay High School. Growing up, William enjoyed hanging out with his friends all the time and competing in volleyball and tennis tournaments. He had a natural knack and love for mathematics and graduated with a Bachelors degree at UVic. After graduation William headed off to experience life in different places. He studied computer science at BCIT in Vancouver and gained more experience braving the winters of Calgary.
In 1993, William met Laura while working in Vancouver. They started dating and spent a lot of their time together playing recreational volleyball. William and Laura purchased their first home in 1997 and married shortly after at the Laurel Pointe Inn. They started their family by getting an orange tabby cat, Zeus, and eventually William and Laura had three sons: Brendon, Cameron and Nathan. As the boys got older and started getting involved in extracurricular activities, he never hesitated to volunteer his time. He drove students to sporting events, chaperoned school field trips and even coached basketball. William was a dedicated father and did everything he could to support his boys.
When William was not driving his boys to and from sports or cooking a meal for his family, he really enjoyed getting together with a few friends to watch football and talk cars. William not only took good care of his family, but he always made sure everyone else was taken care of, especially when looking for the best sales and hottest deals. You can always count on him to research where you can get the best bang for your buck! William will be greatly missed and remembered as a hardworking, kind-hearted man who was devoted to his family.
A private family service will be held at 2:00pm on Sunday, October 11, 2020, in the Sequoia Centre at McCall Gardens. All others are invited to attend virtually via Zoom by clicking the following link. Please use your video camera when attending virtually so family in attendance can see you and feel your support.
CLICK HERE TO ATTEND THE SERVICE VIRTUALLY
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Crises Center of BC at CanadaHelp
Condolences may be offered to the family below.
McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com
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Deborah Cooper
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Fiona Schandl To the Kwan Family,
Our sincerest condolences to you all. We were saddened to hear about Will’s passing.
Will, will be remembered for his big smile and always being by the sidelines of Nathan’s school games. While watching many of the boys school volleyball games, Will patiently explained the game to us.
Our thoughts are with you all.
Fiona, Jack, Aiden & Ethan Schandl
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Helena Campbell Helena and John Campbell.
We are so sorry to hear of Will’s passing. Will , Laura and the boys have been our neighbors for over 20 years. We will really miss seeing him around. Our hearts go out to Loura the boys and the whole Kwan family.
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Carol Prest I am so terribly sad to hear of Will’s passing. He will be missed in our office. He was warm and caring to everyone across our organization and was always willing to help out…and was active in participating in branch activities. His laughter was infectious and he touched so many lives with his kindness – he was an integral part of our work team. I am so very sorry – my heartfelt condolences to Will’s family.
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Scott Chan My sincere condolences to William’s family. I am shocked to learn of his passing. My family knew the Kwan family well and I remember William from George Jay and Central Jr. High. We didn’t hang out as he was a grade ahead of me but we knew of each other and he was always quick to say hello. My mom remembers his mother and was sad of her passing when William was very young. Despite his loss, he was always so brave and never once showed his pain. I am sure he is finally reunited with her after so long. May he rest in peace.
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Joan Mary Ken and Wing Quan Our sincerest condolences to the family .
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Omid Zamani William was a shining lamp in the Office, he touched every heart he met, and always had a kind and warm smile when he greeted us. I will always remember our coffee chats about his passion for Teslas and his family whom he loved very much. May our Creator keep his soul close and I know he is smiling down on us to assist us on our journey through life. My deepest condolences to his family.
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Glen Soo I am so sad to hear about the loss. My sincere sympathies to the family. Will was a great friend always a fun time hanging out with him. Going to miss you Will.
RIP
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Richard Leung I am stunned that William is no longer with us. Although we had not had much contact in recent years, from the ages of about 12-18,the four of us, William, John, Mark and me were pretty much inseparable. Many hours were spent at the Gladstone house playing Intellivision or Dungeons and Dragons.
Two things I know about William: he loved his family and he always wanted to better his life. That’s why, although we all lived a stone’s throw from Vic High, the four of us attended Oak Bay High School because we had heard it was academically stronger, so we rode our bikes across town every day in search of a better education and a better future.
I knew that William had suffered tragedy in his childhood, but as kids will, we never really spoke of it. I now wish we had. He just seemed like any other kid to me, sometimes happy, sometimes sad. He had a great laugh and was great fun to be around. I now realize how strong he must have been to put on this brave face and soldier on.
While attending his Zoom funeral, I wore a suit and tie to show my respect, and I teared up as I realized William was the one who taught me how to tie a tie in high school. He was a good friend and a good man. I can’t believe he’s gone, far too soon.
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Kenny Lowe Sending sincere condolences to the Kwan family.
Kenny Lowe
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Lau family Most sincere condolences to Laura and the family. We are thinking of you during these difficult times. William will be missed by all.
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Amy Cheung Your laugh and sense of humor will be greatly missed. Fond memories of the time we spent in our youth.
Much love and strength to Laura and the boys.
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Marvin G Paxman I am so very sorry to hear of Will’s passing. I have been a little out of touch with my former colleagues since my retirement and I only just realized that I had confused the name with someone I knew only briefly when in fact, Will was a close associate during the last several years of my career. When I saw the obituary and realized my mistake, I was devastated. My heart is breaking for his family and close loved ones. Will was such a great guy, he was great to work with because he was not only good at what he was doing but patient and fastidious. I worked very closely with him on several projects, and he even had to put up with me mumbling to myself with our cubicles right next to each other during my last year. I can’t begin to say what a loss this is to everyone who knew him. He was just so likeable. I hope and pray with all my heart for comfort to his family and closest friends.
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Lynda Brent Words cannot convey the sadness in our hearts of this sudden news. We have such fond memories of our friendship and good times with William when he was living here in Vancouver. We miss the good ol’ days playing softball with William and the gang way back when. He was always full of life, laughter and ready to have fun! Our heartfelt condolences to Laura & the boys during this difficult time. William will be dearly missed, but never forgotten!
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Frank Ip We are deeply saddened by this unexpected loss. William will be always remembered as a great person, caring friend and a fantastic family guy. Our hearts go out to his family. We hope his family will find peace and comfort during this difficult time. With deepest condolences, Frank & Sylvia Ip
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Henry Lam My sincerest condolences to Laura and the boys. I always enjoyed my discussions with William and having him as a team mate in volleyball. He will be greatly missed.
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Patrick Kwan I am really sorry to hear about the loss. My condolence goes out to William’s family and friends.
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Andy C You were such a great friend/brother, Will. I’ll miss you greatly! R.I.P.
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Rebecca Westle I’ll always remember Will and I’m grateful to have known him. He was kind, fun-loving, and always so generous with his time. I had the privilege of working with him and getting to know him over lunches and coffee room chats. My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.
It has been a few years since I last had the opportunity to work with Will as a colleague in our small organization. He was one of the kindest people I ever met. He had a great sense of humour and a beaming smile that I will never forget. He was often talking in the lunchroom about his kids. You could tell he was an involved father who was proud of his family. As a coworker he had my utmost respect with his patience,cooperative and helpful nature. He is missed by many, a loss for many, but my heart goes out most for his family. May you find peace and hope as you cope with your profound loss.