A Tribute to Bill

The Board has the sad duty of informing the members of the Association that our Past President, Bill Dypchey, passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, May 7, 2006. Bill had been in failing health for the last few years and had stepped down as President at our 2005 AGM because of it. Even so, he continued to contribute to the Association in many ways, in particular in arranging our educational program, probably doing as much work as when he was President.

Bill’s contributions to the Association were extensive. His background in small business led him to make our operations more efficient, partly because he convinced the Board of the wisdom of renting an office, which allowed us to improve our clerical and business activities which had been done in the homes of the Directors. This also had the important result of getting the Board to know the member strata owners better as they dropped in to discuss their problems and concerns. Many other improvements in service to the members can be attributed to Bill’s initiatives. — Dave Kristmanson.

Bill’s knowledge of the Condominium Act and later the Strata Property Act was extensive. He was of immense help to many neophyte strata council presidents in applying these acts in their stratas. He was always encouraging and supportive. — Peggy Mornan.

He was instrumental in getting permission to reproduce the copies of the Strata Property Act, which the Association could then make available to members. He was the major writer of and the driving force behind the Association’s recently issued Council Manual. His extensive knowledge of the Strata Property Act was of great benefit to council members and to individual strata owners. — Ian MacLeod.

Bill’s leadership, volunteer spirit and drive were an inspiration to anyone who met him. He had a great zest for living and doing things to the best of his ability. He suffered the pain and repeated treatment of kidney dialysis for a long time with no complaints to his fellow volunteers. I can recall one of his first directors meetings when he had found a document I had written about my vision for the Association. He said simply, “we will do this”; we did. He was behind the new logo and the name change to encompass more than White Rock and South Surrey. We became the Pacific Condominium Association of B.C. instead. Bill was the one who created and had printed many brochures and handouts for the office. These have helped countless condominium council members and owners over the years. When the web site was in its initial stages Bill was there to assist and suggest new features. — Karl Gregg.

I owe Bill a very special debt of gratitude. It was he who started me off on a career in the area of condominium law. He encouraged, supported and mentored me along the way. He never ceased to present me with challenging questions relating to condominium law. Not only did they cause me to stretch and refine my knowledge of the law, but also I always enjoyed debating the grey areas with him. He was also a good friend; taking time to share with me the wisdom he had learned over the years. Simply put, he will be deeply missed. Shawn M. Smith, Cleveland and Doan.

We are all enriched for having known him, and offer our sympathy and thanks to Mary Dypchey and the family.