Teacher, councillor, columnist and grandfather

By Mark Ribble

The community lost one of its more colourful leaders with the passing of Bill Chaplin on March 9.

Bill was a popular teacher at Leamington District Secondary School for many years and then followed up that career with a long career in municipal politics. He sat on council from 1982 to 1997, including a stint as deputy mayor.

Bill was also a regular columnist in the Southpoint Sun, covering council meetings and sharing his thoughts on a regular basis.

He and Liz had attended a few of the Sun’s staff Christmas parties over the years and were always welcome additions to the group.

We knew him to always have a sly smile on his face and he’d drop a funny anecdote or two whenever he came into the office.

My first real interaction with Bill — and Liz — was a card game at the home of Mike and Geri Thibodeau many years ago. His larger-than-life personality certainly perked up an otherwise slow night of euchre.

He also spent many years with the Leamington Kinsmen, logging many hours of community service.

I last spoke to Bill at the swearing in of the new council last November and although he didn’t look like the Bill of old, that sense of humour still shone through in our brief conversation.

I am old enough to be able to say I knew of him as a teacher at LDSS when I went there from 1976-79, but never had the fortune of having him as one of my teachers during that four-year span.

Often regarded as the ‘cool teacher’ by many students of that era, Bill was always considered firm, fair and very knowledgeable — not only in his field of science — but in other worldly endeavours too. His sense of humour was worked into pretty much every lesson he taught.

He had opinions about local politics that he wasn’t afraid to share and brought a breath of fresh air to the columns he wrote — and he knew his stuff.

He was one of only a handful of people that I knew who found such things as drainage and bylaw amendments exciting fodder for the paper.

Bill’s daughter Heather Latam — herself a Leamington councillor — said she remembers going with Bill to municipal events as a young adult and getting the municipal bug at that time.

“He had an absolutely brilliant mind,” she said. “and a wicked sense of humour.”

Heather said that she never had Bill as a teacher and was happy for that because his ‘homework help’ was often over her head.

“He would start explaining things that I couldn’t even comprehend,” she said.

Mostly, though, she’s grateful for his relationship with his grandchildren.

“The grandkids became a huge part of his life,” she said. “It was something to see. It was pretty amazing.”

Bill’s hobby of woodworking helped those grandkids when he made several pieces, including dressers for all of them.

And of course, his heart was always with that big round sphere that sits in Leamington’s uptown. The Big Tomato welcomed Bill when he made his way to Leamington as a young man and he talked in his final weeks about how it needed to be preserved.

Donations can be made at town hall in Bill’s name which will go directly to the Big Tomato renovation fund. Anything donated over $20 will garner a tax receipt.

When Bill’s memorial service takes place at Reid’s this Saturday morning, there will be plenty of stories, laughs and probably a few tears too, but gratefulness for a life well lived.

Here at the Sun, our collective hats are off to our old friend Bill Chaplin, who spent many late nights taking notes and writing reports to meet our deadlines at the paper, long after the rest of us had retired to bed for the evening.

To his family, we offer our condolences for a man who served his community well and brought positive change to that same community through those years of service.

Bill Chaplin teaching a science class at LDSS in 1975.

Bill Chaplin’s popular columns in the Southpoint Sun over the past few years showcased his sense of humour, his sense of community and his tendency to ‘tell it like it is.’