(Deceased October 31, 2016 funeral November 04, 2016)

Some of you are aware that I spent five years at an University but I was not able to carry on with Graduate studies due to circumstances that involved raising a family and the need to eat and live.

I was very fortunate to be admitted a little known but highly recommended place of higher learning, the University of A & W, Castlegar Campus located on Columbia Avenue, Castlegar, B.C..

it was there that I met a faculty that superseded all that I had ever experienced up to and including that era. This included meeting Bill Stoochnoff:

• Unchallenged Governor,

• Avid Debator

These Philosophical Statements will equal those of Socretes:

• “No one knows for sure about Heaven and that is very good in my opinion. If someone ever came back and confirmed how good it is, would anyone want to stay here on Earth? So it makes sense that this does not take place, otherwise everyone would leave Earth right away and there is just not enough room in Heaven for all of us at this time.”
• “Education is great but one cannot get much nourishment from Education alone but hard work can produce gardens that will keep you healthy and the income necessary to survive instead of just talking about it. But therein is the problem, one has to work that is a common sickness that does not seem too exciting for so many”
• “I grow an abundance of extra apples, nuts and produce that I cannot give away as no one even wants to harvest all this and for the taking and help me out. So I don’t believe that there is an actual problem with local hunger as much as there may be no willingness to trade harvest and work for a food return. I cannot even give my produce away.”

Bill has been honored with a hallowed position at the University of A & W, Castlegar Campus:

• Accepted and acted as Governor at classes that started at 0630 and usually ended at 0800 hours

• Held a chair located at the Northeast end of Table 3 that no one dared to occupy
  • This has now been taken immediately over by Count Alexei Rebinoff upon Bill’s passing
  • Does this mean an over zealous replacement?

• His debate status with Professor Jean Brocelex regarding the Hobb’s particle in the Atom and mutual agreement that was where God resides. We are not sure if Bill can take the credit for naming it “God’s Particle” as it now referred to by those who discuss Quantum Physics

Some of his notoriety is being remembered as:

• The man who always treated so many by bring his nuts to the University. If you were a good person, he shared his nuts with you. It is amazing how many handfuls of his nuts that he sent home with me to pass on to Marilyn. We now have three (3) gallons of nuts saved in Bill’s memory because both Marilyn and I have false teeth and cannot handle Bill’s nuts very efficiently

• Being able to deflect a slap on the face from the Home Economics Dean, Lynn Smith, for rather off color sexist remarks but then Lynn is from Empress Saskatchewan and very adept at handling “Dirty Old Men”. It was actually very much acceptable at at a high level “Educational College”

• His debates with the “Count” Alex Rebin regarding religion were really very educational and usually ended in a stalemate much to the enjoyment of the entire class of about ten (10) of us. As their voices raised with passion regarding who did what in the “Doukhobor Way of Life”, we realized that their understanding of that subject was deep and with conviction

Bill was always interested in what I was doing and would ask me to provide information on:

• Saskatchewan:
  • He had never been East past Calgary and knew that he had relatives there and hungered to visit them
  • We talked about the former Doukhobor Villages and I reassured him that they can still be located by all the horse radish still growing around them

• Whatshan:
  • He was intrigued on why I was always contributing so much with so many to this project
  • This year, he asked if I would take him there
  • I had a one on one opportunity to hear all about his healthy understanding of giving without expectation of a reward
  • He approved the Banya that was under construction
  • We ate lunch together and had a beer to celebrate our friendship

I need to add much more but I think all of you have now got the message that Bill will always remain as a large part of my positive memory of a man who deserved the title of Governor.

Most of the Academia are present here today.

We will miss Bill at the U of A & W!

Written by Elmer Verigin , November 04, 2016