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Harold WAKIL Obituary
Harold Wakil passed away on January 21, 2021. He was our father. The following telling of his life is based on stories he and our mother told me over the years - accuracy is not guaranteed!
Harold was born on March 18, 1929 in Iraq. He told us that he and his brothers came to Canada in their teens, to plant a toehold for the rest of the family. They were building a house that the family would eventually move into but someone came along and asked to buy it. Thus, Wakil Construction was born. Harold was in charge of construction - the three brothers oversaw an ascendant company starting in the 50's. He worked hard and took pride in the accomplishments of the family business.
Harold married Gladys Hack and during the fifteen years they were together, they had five kids. He could be a really fun dad, like the winter night when he strung all the neighbourhood kids' toboggans to the back of his jeep and tore around the park next to our house. O Joy! We watched Walt Disney World every Sunday. He constantly ruined Ed Sullivan for us by mocking the rock/pop musicians Ed had on the show.
After leaving the construction company he moved to a farm just outside of town. There he pursued his interest in and love of classical music. He loved hockey. He read voraciously. He never threw out a copy of the National Geographic (piles of them all over his house). He occasionally read his mail and left the rest to pile up on his kitchen table. He was a vegetable free zone. He raised cows and chickens, had feral cats all over the place.
He is survived by his five children - Tim, Kathy (Jason), Valerie (Rob), Kimberly, Neil - and his grandsons Colin, Tim, David, Liam and Alex.
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Memories and Condolences
for Harold WAKIL
10 Entries
John Nickerson
February 22, 2021
My name is John Nickerson Harold was my neighbour and did I enjoy the last time we spend time together when Harold and his tractor arrived at my house on Spring Creek Road we had a wonderful time I am only sorry of all the times that I felt I would get to see him againOf course I’m very sorry that I didn’t but gosh it was a swell time
Kevin Block
February 9, 2021
Harold was our neighbour for almost thirty years. He was an excellent country neighbour, being good humoured, helpful, hospitable, and generous. He was remarkably intelligent and deeply spiritual. May he Rest In Peace.
Elaine (Funk) MacKinnon
February 9, 2021
Kathy - I've thought about you several times over the years and remember you from our early school days. Sounds like your father was quite an interesting man. Reading the obituary notice brought back childhood memories. I send condolences on your loss and trust that the good memories will bring you comfort.
Robert Bucknall
February 7, 2021
When i think of Harold, i think of his wind chimes. I will miss the conversations we had together on that quiet porch with the beautiful sound from the chimes. He had such interesting stories to tell as he rode in my combine as we harvested his fields. You never had to worry about being thirsty at Harold's farm, he would never miss an opportunity to come out to the fields to give us a cold beer. When we had those porch conversations, you could tell there was much wisdom in his thoughts. I will miss those field visits my friend. Thoughts and prayers to the family..
Eva
February 7, 2021
Harold-- Beloved, Darling, Precious Soul.
What a wonderful man you were.
I don't think anything will ever
be the same again without you.
You are Forever in my heart and thoughts.
Timothy Nesbitt
February 7, 2021
Puppa was a giant. I remember a man who was big as a house, whose hugs would smother me, whose chest boomed while he laughed. I remember the smell of the woodstove which heated his hobbit hole-cum-farmhouse, and how much it hurt to burn my hand on it. And how he was right there to scoop me up and take care of me. I remember him spoiling me as best he possibly could. We took long rides on his Harley, he put me In the seat of a tractor before I could tie my own shoes, we went shooting and took long, long walks of the farm.
He would have given you the very shirt off his back, even if it was the very last thing he had. Even when you may not have deserved it.
Puppa was smart, too.
I remember being a wee boy, and going through his collection of books and being floored at how one man could have such such an extensive library packed into one seemingly small shelf! And the boxes of National Geographic magazines.... or the fact that he helped to engineer entire neighborhoods of a city. Or that he was a master mechanic, and a pretty handy carpenter to boot.
Harold Wakil was my grandfather, and he was a lot of things. He never said a bad word about me or my brother. All he ever had in his heart for either of us was love... and even at 27 I'm fairly sure he looked at me as a bouncy baby boy on his knee.
Puppa, I miss you, habibi.
Mary-Ann Pearson Jolley
February 2, 2021
I remember when "Mr. Wakil" built their beautiful family home at the end of my street. The neighbourhood kids would invade the work-in-progress when the construction guys left at the tend of the day, and vividly recall using a ladder to climb to the 2nd floor, only to have Mark Easson jack it down leaving me stranded up there for what seemed like hours. I then became good friends with his daughter, Kimberley. Even after they moved, I had the pleasure of being what seemed like an honourary family member, with many a sleepover and family trips. He will always be "Mr. Wakil" to me, and made me feel welcomed and loved whenever he greeted me in his special way. My condolences to the entire family.
Cindy
January 28, 2021
Harold was a man who was larger than life with hands and heart to match. His life was full of experiences in the same way that we all have however, his were often quite extreme and diverse. In his youth he won the body building title of Mr. Ontario. Professionally, he was an engineer and site master in his company (with his brothers) Wakil Construction, eventually creating his own construction company and building on into his 60’s. He was a member of the Welland Motorcycle Club and built their first clubhouse in the early 1950’s. He continued to ride well into his 80’s. He loved to travel on his motorcycle or in his trailer. After he outlived his driver’s license, he would drive his tractor from Vineland all over the area. Often, he would show up at my house in the north end to plow my driveway or return Tupperware from a meal I had made for him or just to check in to say, “Hi”. It is his hands though, those large hands that he would cup my face with and tell me that he loved me while kissing the top of my head. Harold was never shy about telling you that he loved you, if he truly felt that way, whoever you were. Harold was a unique man who graced this earth in his own way. He left buildings that will stand many years and relationships that last a lifetime even beyond his own. My daughters and I will never forget Harold. Forever in our hearts.
Karen Moncur
January 26, 2021
I will never forget Harold's 6 sided house on Victoria Ave. in Vineland. I was friends with two of his daughters when we were teenagers and when we would go out there to visit, I was in awe of this house. It was larger than life, just like Harold himself. He would often be tooling around the property on his tractor, dressed in his overalls when we would arrive. He was a builder and as a founder of Wakil Construction, certainly left his mark on St. Catharines. I will remember him as a unique character, a man with a curiosity and large appetite for life. I live in one of the houses he built in Wakil Valley. RIP Harold.
janet wakil
January 25, 2021
what can i possibly say about my remarkable, charismatic uncle harold without writing an entire book?
he rose to any occasion, whether he was listening to haydn or mozart, drinking beer or johnny walker black, debating on any subject you may choose, riding his motorcycle across the world, coming to rochester at the drop of a hat for a haflah. the very definition of a renaissance man.
when i told him i was renovating my attic and needed flooring, he showed up in his ranchero (or was it an el camino?) with a load of wood flooring from a 200 year old farmhouse in northern ontario. he installed it expertly in no time flat. i gave him a lot of money and also a motorcycle with no title. later i asked how he got it across the border, he said it was no problem, and somehow he managed to get a title for it. he was a master at bending the rules ! and this was a guy who could also quote nietzsche. and also be mr. ontario !!!
i'd call him up on a sunday morning to come and meet us at raj mahal, our then favorite indian restaurant, and i would practically order most of the menu and he and my whole family would have our own haflah-feast. he enjoyed it so very much, when i asked him how he liked it he would kiss the tips of his fingers and blow a kiss. . of course those big tall bottles of indian beer would help wash it all down. we'd have them wrap up a week's worth of to-go for him. i think that's why he always came at the drop of a hat, he did so enjoy a feast and company and debating, particularly with doug.
every time he saw me he would tell me that he went to chicago to visit when i was a baby, he'd hold his hands 18 inches apart and tell me, 'you were this big' and get a wistful expression on his face, perhaps for his youth. i am only guessing. he was a man of exceptionally deep feelings.
i know that we will never ever see his likes again.
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Memorial Events
for Harold WAKIL
Funeral services provided by:
Wilson Burial & Cremation Inc.341 Linwell Road, St. Catharines, ON L2N 1T6