William “Bill” Arthur Hogg, resident of Grande Prairie, AB passed away Sunday, September 27, 2020, after a long and courageous battle with prostate and bone cancer, at the age of 84 years.

Bill was born September 12, 1935 in Lymburn, AB, raised in Longview, AB and lived the rest of his life in Grande Prairie.

He had a very strong work ethic and never shied away from hard work. As a young man he worked as a cowboy on the OH Ranch in Longview, then as a Rough Neck on the oil rigs before going into partnership with his dad in the heavy-duty construction business. He drove the heavy machinery Cats and Scrapers building roads, cleaning up leases for oil companies and working for ranchers around Longview. When the family moved to Grande Prairie, Bill continued in the construction business for a number of years. After this he took a position expediting in Beaver River, YT for a short period and returned to get his ticket operating a crane to be closer to his wife and children. He worked for Adam Crane in Grande Prairie, then Cutbank Trucking running a track loader, loading logs down at Weyerhaeuser south of Grande Prairie and then went north with Dome Petroleum running crane on a man-made island in the Beaufort Sea and retired at the age of 65.

Listening to Bill tell stories about his youth and the trouble he got into as an “up-to-no-good” kid was forever entertaining as he always was laughing throughout the story with that mischievous sparkle in his eyes. He loved to go to auctions and garage sales collecting random items. He also loved betting on the horses and was frequently seen at Evergreen Park sitting on the high stools or playing the slot machines. He also met the gang for coffee at the Prairie Mall on a regular basis.

Bill will be sadly missed by his loving wife Frances “Alix” Hogg; son Michael (Sabine) Hogg of Calgary; daughter Shawna Wright (Robin Overbye) of North Vancouver, BC; granddaughter Sierra Wright; brother Albert Hogg of Calgary; sisters Rosalie (Garth) Koll of Beaverlodge and Rhonda (Ernie) Yaskowich of Calgary; brother in-law Leo Kemery of Calgary, nephews Aaron Kemery, and Mitchell Koll; and nieces Michelle (Kemery) Reed, Susan Koll, Shalene Yaskowich, Rosanne Yaskowich and Caprice Hogg.

Bill was predeceased by his parents Osborne and Hannah “Nance/Nancy” Hogg, brothers George and Roy, sister Anne Kemery, and nephews Marvin and Edwin Hogg.

A special thank you to his sister Rosalie Koll for the countless hours she assisted Bill throughout his illness; Mitch Koll for all he has done; Dr. Marie Moreau, Dr. Jacollete Hattingh, Dr. Sara Marcotte and Dr. Angela Barreth who cared and supported us throughout his illness; the nurses and the staff at the Cancer Clinic for their care and kind support; the Home Care nurses and staff that did not just support and encourage us to care for our husband and father, but made sure he was looked after the best possible way he could be; and a very special thank you to the nurses and staff at Prairie Lake Hospice for their compassion and kindness at the end of his life.

A Celebration of Life will be organized for family and close friends in the New Year.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to Grande Prairie Palliative Care Society (#204, 10134 97 Ave., Grande Prairie, AB, T8V 7X6) who provided such kind and compassionate care for the last days of his life, Hope Air (207 - 124 Merton St., Toronto, ON, M4S 2Z2, www.hopeair.ca/) who provided transportation for radiation treatments, or to the Grande Prairie Cancer Centre (C/O Grande Prairie Regional Hospital Foundation 10409 98 St., Grande Prairie, AB, T8V 2E8).

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.