Bill Der leaves a legacy of hard work
Terry Halifax
Northern News Services
Hay River (Jan 15/01) - Family and friends of of popular restaurant owner Bill Der are mourning his death in a crash on Highway 1 last Tuesday.
Bill Der and his wife Jeanette owned the Sub-Arctic Wok restaurant in Fort Simpson and were working hard at making a success of the cafe.
Bill's brother Simon Tse of Hay River said his brother always worked hard at whatever he did.
"He was a good man, he was mostly a business man," Tse said. "He was always operating a restaurant and our family is quite shocked to lose him."
After graduating from university in Hong Kong, Bill went to work for the Hong Kong police force for four years. He moved to Canada in 1971 and worked mostly in small towns, his brother said, but also lived in Calgary and Edmonton for short periods.
Most of his life in Canada was spent in the North. The Ders lived in Inuvik, Rae/Edzo, Yellowknife and Fort Liard before settling in at Fort Simpson.
"He worked very hard day and night and every day too . . . he worked hard his whole life," Tse said.
Bill's wife Jeanette has been treated and released from the hospital.
"She is very, very upset it has been so very painful for her," he said. "I believe Bill tried to save her life. I went to see the vehicle and looks like it was all on his side."
Fort Simpson's Ken Brown said he got to know Bill through his work as liquor inspector, but also enjoyed talking to Bill and frequented the restaurant just to visit.
"I'm really sorry that the community lost him," Brown said.
"The guy came in and took a gamble on a place that is notorious for shutting down and breaking its owners and it seemed like they were making a go of it."
"They really tried to be good community members by hiring locals and that doesn't often work," he said. "He gave that a good shot let me tell you. I used to be a councillor at the school here and I went in there a lot of times and saw the school kids there."
"He was really nice and so is Jeannette -- really nice people," he said.
The funeral service was held in Edmonton on Sat. Jan. 13.
Bill Der is survived by his parents in Edmonton, his wife Jeannette, two children from a previous marriage, four younger brothers and one sister.
