Bill Johnstone
Jan. 30, 1949  – Jan 14, 2001

Dad’s obituary as it appeared in the Globe and Mail: globeandmail.com – Charles William Johnstone

Some of my memories of that week:

Visitation was held at a local funeral home for three evenings prior to the funeral. Even though it was a cold January, there were hundreds of people lined up across the parking lot and down the street waiting to pay their respects. Seeing this, Carla Newbould, wife of the President of Mount Allison University, inquired as to our plans for the funeral service. We had planned to have the funeral at the church we attended, Main Street Baptist Church, which could seat 300-500 people with overflow and closed circuit TV to other parts of the church. Mrs. Newbould began to make inquiries on our behalf, and President Ian Newbould offered use of the University’s 1,500 seat Convocation Hall.

The day of the funeral, most businesses in town were closed.

The members of the local Fire Department had shown up in their dress uniforms and were seated down near the front on one side of the family. At the end of the funeral service, something happened that I thought was odd.  The firefighters all left before any of the any of the family.

The funeral director began leading the family out of the auditorium. As my mother and I stood up to leave, he told us to turn around look up at those gathered to remember, and be proud. It was quite moving to turn and look at the full auditorium, with extra people standing at the back.

As we left the auditorium and made our way through the foyer, I saw why the firefighters had left. Most of them were now standing at attention in rows on either side of the exit. As we drove through town following the hearse, there was a police officer directing traffic at our town’s one stop light. He saluted as we drove by. Passing the Fire Department Station, I noticed firefighters saluting in the window of each of the bay doors.

The whole week was a celebration of dad’s life, his love of family, friends, church, and community. The kind words and deeds of others made that time much easier for us as a family.

From the Globe & Mail, February 14 edition

Charles William Johnstone

Ruth Whelan-Hulsman

Wednesday, February 14, 2001

Family man, grocer, philanthropist. Born Jan. 30, 1949, in Sackville, N.B. Died Jan. 14 in Moncton, of a brain tumour, aged 51.

The close ties between Sackville, N.B., and Mount Allison University (combined population 7,740) were again demonstrated when President Ian Newbould offered Convocation Hall, the largest facility in town, for Bill Johnstone’s funeral service. The hall was filled to its 1,500 capacity.

Bill was the second of George and Eileen Johnstone’s six sons. Not a scholar, his classmates remember that all he ever wanted to do was work in his father’s supermarket. He would hide in the basement until it was too late for school. His father gave him the worst jobs he could find, but Bill was undeterred.

When he was 10, the Trans-Canada Highway was being built just outside town. Bill would fill a cart with pop and ice and wheel it to the workmen. One of them would always drive him back. His wife of 32 years, Starr, thinks this was the start of Bill’s fascination with construction.

In 1976, he and Starr became co-owners of Johnstone’s Save-Easy Supermarket. Townspeople and Mount Allison students benefited from his legendary largesse. Yearly he made 2,000 charitable donations and helped at least 40 organizations plus many anonymous donations to students and townspeople. Each September, he hosted a welcome barbecue for students and helped them with their International Students’ Banquets. The student newspaper, The Argosy, called him a hero.

Starr received a letter from a student’s mother, who had phoned Bill to deliver a fruit basket to her sick daughter. She said she would put a cheque in the mail, Bill told her to wait and pay when next she visited Sackville. She could not get over this kindness to a complete stranger.

Bill was a devout Christian and was a staunch member of Main Street Baptist Church, where he looked after the sound system. This is a conundrum, because, although Bill loved music, he was tone deaf. Starr tells of how, after taking piano lessons for years, his teacher could not take it any longer and suggested he stop the lessons. His musical brother, Brian, played for the Gospel Quartet at Bill’s funeral.

Steve MacDonald remembered Bill greeting him by his usual “Hi, How are ya today?” on his first visit to the supermarket. Steve introduced himself as the new Youth Pastor. Bill said, “You’re rather short, aren’t you?” to which Steve replied, “You’re not so tall yourself!” Bill said, “When I was born, I had a choice — to be tall or handsome!” He may have been small of stature (5-feet, 4-inches) but Bill had a very big heart.

His sense of humour was evident in everything he did. He worked eight to 10 hours daily. His staff felt they worked with him, not for him. They called him “the Energizer Bunny.” He pivoted so much, every three months his Hartt shoes needed new soles. Starr said she will be forever thankful for the loyalty of the staff when Bill was hospitalized for his last two months, leaving her time to spend with him.

Among the mourners was New Brunswick Lieutenant-Governor Marilyn Trenholme-Counsell. Bill’s doctor, she had diagnosed him with Hodgkin’s Disease 21 years ago. After chemotherapy and radiation, he was in remission; but eight years ago an inoperable brain tumour developed.

Bill learned to live with the sporadic seizures. He was forewarned of his seizures by a tingling in his hands. To prevent scaring anyone with whom he was speaking, he had a card with the printing “Don’t worry, I’m having a seizure, I’ll be alright in a minute.” This worked fine, until one day a man walked off with his card! Thereafter, he kept a pocketful of cards.

He will be greatly missed by Starr and children Stacy, Troy and Alana as well as by many other relatives and a multitude of friends. Every time I walk into the supermarket, I still expect to see him.
Ruth was a customer of Bill’s.