John David Williams, beloved husband of Lois, father of Allison (David) Wagner and Ross (Lisa Ransome) Williams, and grandfather of Sophia and Kate Wagner, as well as Harlow and Lorelei Williams, passed away suddenly at Foothills Medical Centre on Saturday, January 17, 2026, at the age of 84 years.

In addition to his immediate family, he is survived by his sister Jessie (Jack) Pendygrasse, his nephew Dano Pendygrasse, and many members of the Poole clan, who have appreciated his steadying influence and his quirky sense of humour for nearly sixty years.

David was born January 2nd, 1942, in Hamiota, Manitoba, to John Maurice “Doc” and Bernice “Bernie” (Pieper) Williams. He had a happy childhood, with his major involvement outside of school being the Royal Canadian Air Cadets. Both parents predeceased him in 1967; at the age of 25, he was on his own.

He first enrolled in the engineering program at the University of Manitoba in 1961. The following summer, he was hired by a company working on the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line, measuring the settlement of buildings built on permafrost. He returned for the following four summers, crisscrossing the Arctic and visiting thirty DEW Line stations. His lifelong fascination with the North resulted in three further trips to the Yukon and two expeditions to the far north, shared with Lois.

In 1965, David enrolled in the survey program at SAIT. He became an Alberta Land Surveyor in 1973 and a Canadian Land Surveyor in 1980.

He met Lois Poole in Calgary in 1967, and they married in 1969. The “boom years” meant days and sometimes weeks out of town. As children arrived, he worked for several firms, trying to balance work and family responsibilities. When an opportunity arose with Brown Okamura & Associates, the family relocated to Lethbridge in 1983. He retired in 2010, remaining a respected member of the Lethbridge business community.

His attention then turned to the restoration of a 1931 Hudson Antique Auto. Patiently cleaning, painting, and placing every nut and bolt; collaborating with his new friends, the sheet metal worker and the upholsterer. He spent hundreds of hours in the pleasant solitude of his workshop.

For the last thirty years, happiness has been living with Lois in a home with a coulee view, enjoying the wildlife meandering through the yard, visits from family and friends, a cat on his lap, music, books, and a “wee dram” of scotch at the end of the day. He was content.

David was a steadfast partner and a hospitable, kind, and generous man. He was the guy who could fix anything.

He was predeceased by his parents and his nephew, Garry Pendygrasse.

Flowers are gratefully declined. Those who wish may make memorial donations to the Chinook Regional Hospital Foundation “Bringing Hearts Home” campaign: https://crhfoundation.ca/cardiaccare/index.php

Cremation has been entrusted to Martin Brothers Funeral Chapels.