December 02, 2015

Bill Dinwoody an advocate for health and recreation

As published in The Erin Advocate

Erin has lost a strong advocate for community health care and recreation services.

Bill Dinwoody, 73, chair of the Recreation and Culture Committee and the Erin Trails group, passed away on November 20 after a brief illness. He is mourned by his beloved wife Martha, and children Thomas, Johanna and Shana.

“He was thoughtful, kind and soft-spoken,” said Joan Fisk, Chair of the Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Network (LHIN). “He gave great advice and had a deep feeling for community health care.”

Dinwoody was to retire this month from his service on the LHIN Board of Directors, which administers funding for hospitals, long-term care, community agencies and home care. He was on the Finance Committee, working to improve efficiency and acc
ountability in the local system, which serves 775,000 residents.

“He was a very positive person – an important citizen who will be sorely missed,” said Mayor Al Alls. A memorial service was held on November 28 at Butcher Family Funeral Home.

Dinwoody was a senior manager at the Royal Bank of Canada, and had retired after a 45-year career. He managed the strategic technology planning and development function, and served on national and international committees to develop a strategic technological direction for the banking industry.




Bill Dinwoody helping out on CVC’s Check Your Watershed Day, measuring temperatures in the
West Credit River, making sketches of bridges and looking for obstacles to the movement of fish.


He lived formerly in Toronto and Shelburne, and had a passion for outdoor activities such as hiking, horseback riding and fishing. He had been a scout leader, a ski instructor, a Sunday school teacher, a guitar player and a wood carver.

He was very active with Credit Valley Conservation, which honoured him with awards for his work on the Woollen Mills Trail and organizing tree planting projects.

Providing leadership on the Erin Trails group, he also helped develop the Rotary and Water Tower Trails, as well as Riverside Park, which had its official opening this year.

With Recreation and Culture, he was an advocate for the Skatepark that was built next to the Centre 2000 arena.