Dominic Willott

Dominic passed away peacefully on Thursday, April 11, 2024. He is survived by his loving wife of 60 years, Linda; his daughters, Anne Marie (Chris) and Theresa (Darcy); and grandchildren, Sydney (Thomas), Alexandra, Christine (Matthew), Alexander, and Nicholas. Besides his family, Dominic is survived by five of his siblings; and numerous nieces and nephews, many of whom have had the pleasure of receiving a birthday limerick from Dominic over the years!

The eldest of seven children, Dominic was born in December 1941, in Gilsland, England, to Geoffrey and Margaret Willott. After living in countless locations across England, Margaret and Geoff moved the family, including 15-year-old Dominic, to Canada in August 1957, in pursuit of better educational opportunities for their children.

Dominic enrolled in the University of Alberta, and while in Edmonton resided in Monks’ Mansion near the campus, establishing lifelong friendships with the other monks – “once a monk, always a monk.” He also met his wife to be, Linda, a nursing student at the Edmonton General. They were married in 1963 and spent the next decade living in various locations across the country as Dominic served in the Royal Canadian Air Force and later worked for both the Federal and Alberta provincial governments. Dominic’s career as a human resource professional concluded when he retired from NAIT in 2000. Dominic and Linda’s nomadic adventure ended when they settled in St. Albert, which became home for the next 50 years. In 2022, Dominic and Linda moved to Calgary to be closer to their children and grandchildren.

Dominic and Linda enjoyed camping and travelling together. Once they even left their teenage girls home unsupervised, with a stack of pre-signed cheques to pay bills, as they circumnavigated the globe. After retirement, Poppa and Grumsie (as they are now known) enjoyed cruising with friends and family, often stopping in England to visit relatives and to research genealogy. Dominic spent countless hours working on a comprehensive family tree, or as Linda would put it, “digging for bones.”

In lieu of flowers, memorial tributes may be made to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada https://www.bloodcancers.ca/ or the Roots of Change Foundation (specifically their ECF-FUNDACCO Fund for Higher Education) https://www.rootsofchange.ca/.

A Funeral Mass will be Celebrated at St. Joseph Catholic Church (640 19th Ave, NW) on Friday, April 19, 2024, at 3:00 p.m.

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