William Vernon Shosenberg
Quietly, at his home in the early hours of Tuesday, 9 January 2018. Bill Shosenberg was predeceased by his beloved wife Doreen Shosenberg (Handley). Father of James and his wife Nancy of Oshawa; Mary Anna Shosenberg and her husband Ralph Wood of Douro; Paul Shosenberg and his wife Jill of Port Perry; Stephen and his wife Angela of Richmond Hill. Bill’s daughter Sharilyn Jean predeceased his passing.
“Mr. Bill,” is lovingly remembered by his grandchildren: Jason Lean, Michael Irwin, and Strickland and Emily Shosenberg; and Sarah Ann and Laura Shosenberg; and his great-grandchildren Kaylee and Leah Irwin; and step great grandchildren Jocelyn Wood, and Reece and Livia Muir.
William Vernon Shosenberg was born in Dundas, Ontario, on a cold Wednesday, January 16, 1918, the youngest child in a family of five children. His sister, Marion, recalled that when his siblings arrived home that evening, their parents, Clara and Charles, announced we had a “new little brother, and they let us take a peek at a little red-faced baby, wrapped only in a blanket.”
William started school in 1925 after the family moved to Toronto. He attended school at Withrow Avenue Public School until 1927, when the family moved to Peterborough, Ontario. There, he went to Central Public School, and later, attended Queen Alexandra, where he graduated from grade eight.
During the depression, the family lost their home, and were forced to move to their cottage on Four Mile Lake, near Burnt River. For the next three years, Bill did not attend school because the nearest secondary school was in Fenelon Falls, 20 kilometers away. Luckily, in 1935, Somerville Public School in Burnt River started a “continuation school” to offer local students the opportunity to complete grades nine and ten.
Bill finished grades nine and ten at the continuation school, traveling the 5 kilometers from the family cottage on Four Mile Lake to school by horse and cart in summer, and on foot, by horse and cutter, or on skis in winter. In 1937, he entered grade 11 at Fenelon Falls Secondary School, boarding in Fenelon. Bill also sang in the United Church choir, and, later, in a chorus that performed at Massey Hall in Toronto. The following two years, Joseph Handley allowed him to drive his car to Fenelon Falls on the condition that he would take his daughters, Doreen, and Peggy, with him.
In 1939, Bill turned the family chicken house at Four Mile Lake into a workshop. Here, he built cedar strip canoes, punts, and wooden lawn chairs for his father's cottages. As well, he constructed a complete sailboat, which he named the “Dorwill.” Another of his projects was a mahogany broach, which he personalized with names fashioned from varnished macaroni.
In 1940, Bill graduated with his senior matriculation from Fenelon Falls Secondary School. In future years he would regale his children with stories of his academic prowess, describing how he became such an outstanding student, always standing at the top of his class. That summer, to raise sufficient money to attend Normal School (Teachers' College) in Peterborough, he worked at Holliday Hideaway Lodge as a handyman. By September, he had saved enough money to register for the one-year Normal School course. He also continued to make and sell those personized mahogany broaches. Early in the school year, he put a sample of one of his broaches on the school bulletin board with a list attached, so that anyone who wanted to buy one from him could sign their name. When he returned a few hours later, there were 150 names on the list. Soon, he was selling the broaches to the local Woolworths store as well. In this way, he managed to make enough money to pay for his education until Christmas of that year. The remainder of his year was financed by a loan from his sister, Marion.
After graduation, Bill’s first teaching position was at a one-room school at Baddow, teaching grades 1 to 8 to the entire school - 14 children in all.
In 1942, two important events shaped Bill’s life, He volunteered to join the Royal Canadian Air Force; and two months later, on 25 July 1942, he married Sarah Ann Doreen Handley, daughter of Joseph and Matilda Handley, at St. Luke's Anglican Church, Burnt River.
During the war, Bill attained the rank of Flying Officer, serving as a flying instructor, and accumulating over 1300 hours of flying time. His experiences in the RCAF provided him with sufficient anecdotes to bore his children for the rest of his life, particularly his story about how “He won the war single-handed,” - a remarkable feat considering he was never in combat.
After his discharge from the Air Force Bill resumed teaching, but eventually became disenchanted with his choice of career. In 1947, his family returned to Burnt River. In December of that year, Bill took the train to Eaton’s Department Store in Toronto, carrying with him a sample of a wooden lawn chair he had built. The store ordered 1,000 chairs from him. This product, and others that he developed, were so successful that he built Victoria Woodenwares, in Fenelon Falls - a business that he would own and manage for the next thirty years.
In 1983, Bill sold his business and he and his family retired to a new home on Cameron Lake. His interest in building continued, however. In 1984, he built a workshop at his home. His most spectacular project was the construction of a two-seat helicopter, which he learned to fly.
Over the years, as his health declined, Bill eagerly awaited those days when he could visit Debbie Sluice and her staff at the Adult Daycare Program at the United Church. There, he reprised his career as a vocal artist by singing to the other attendees, … and cheating at Bingo.
Bill loved his caregivers, and they quickly became part of his family. The patience and support of Cheryl Hasenpflug, Heather Lamb, Mary Bailey Wilson, Camila Plachta, Gladys Stewart, Tiffany McLellan … and so many others, allowed him to live out his life in his favourite place … his home.
Mr. Bill’s life spanned almost a century. He died one week short of his 100th birthday. Memorial donations to the Fenelon Falls Museum (Maryboro Lodge) would be appreciated by the family.

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