William Gorsline KOTCHAPAW^{[1, 2]}

1891 - 1971  (80 years)

• Name	William Gorsline KOTCHAPAW  [3, 4, 5, 6]
  Birth	28 Jul 1891	Picton, Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada   [4]
  Gender	Male
  _UID	379B7A2684E648839D5957FD2A26C0ADAE35
  Death	5 Oct 1971	Winnipeg, , Manitoba, Canada   [2]
  Burial	Winnipeg, , Manitoba, Canada
  	Brookside Cemetary
  Person ID	I7358	Ryeland Family Tree
  Last Modified	19 Mar 2026

  
  

  Father	John Ryerson KOTCHAPAW,   b. 13 Jan 1853, Sophiasburgh Township, Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada d. 6 May 1940, Picton, Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada (Age 87 years)
  Mother	Sarah Matilda GORSLINE,   b. 1856   d. 25 Jul 1899, Sophiasburgh Township, Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada (Age 43 years)
  Marriage	11 Jun 1879
  Family ID	F1457	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Bessie Alison BROWN,   b. 14 Jun 1894, Toronto, , Ontario, Canada d. 7 May 1965, Winnipeg, , Manitoba, Canada (Age 70 years)
  Marriage	23 Dec 1916	Winnipeg, , Manitoba, Canada
  Children	1. Margaret Sarah KOTCHAPAW,   b. 10 Oct 1918, Winnipeg, , Manitoba, Canada d. Mar 1991, Winnipeg, , Manitoba, Canada (Age 72 years)   2. Marion Grace KOTCHAPAW,   b. 8 Sep 1921, Winnipeg, , Manitoba, Canada d. 11 Aug 2017 (Age 95 years)   3. Lieut. William John KOTCHAPAW,   b. 21 Nov 1924, Winnipeg, , Manitoba, Canada d. 10 Sep 1944 (Age 19 years)   4. Betty Catherine KOTCHAPAW,   b. 5 May 1927, Winnipeg, , Manitoba, Canada d. 8 Oct 2004, Vancouver, , British Columbia, Canada (Age 77 years)   5. John KOTCHAPAW   d. Winnipeg, , Manitoba, Canada   6. Allison KOTCHAPAW
  Family ID	F5887	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	27 Nov 2014

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 28 Jul 1891 - Picton, Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada Marriage - 23 Dec 1916 - Winnipeg, , Manitoba, Canada Death - 5 Oct 1971 - Winnipeg, , Manitoba, Canada Burial - - Winnipeg, , Manitoba, Canada  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Photos

  William KOTCHEPAW.jpg

  
  

• Notes

  Grandpa Bill. Bill was 8 when his mother passed on. His dad remarried but his stepmother reportedly was not very loving towards him. My grandfather loved to farm and loved that particular farm but the tradition was that the older son inherited the farm. So as the second son, Bill had to go to town to get a job. In 1909 at the age of 18, Grandpa Bill went to Winnipeg and became a shoe salesman . One of the stories of how he met my Grandmother Bessie was while fitting shoes on her. Another story was that they met at a snow shoe club event. So definitely “shoes” were involved and the photos clearly show a Prince Charming in their “courting” photos. He was a member of the Kiwanis club for more than 43 years and elected president in 1944. He was their all-time leading apple salesman and never failed to place in the exclusive 100 plus category since the campaign started in 1930. Active in fraternal work, Bill was a life member of the St James Masonic Lodge and of the Scottish rite. He served as illustrious potentate of the Shrine in 1958. He spent much of his spare time tending his vegetable and flower gardens both in Winnipeg and at his cottage in Lac du Bonnet. He was a member of the St James and Winnipeg horticultural socities. He was once chairman of the St James School Board and a member of the Canadian Club and the Winnipeg Winter Club. He enjoyed his cigars and his buicks. My parents and I often stayed with my grandaprents at the cottage on Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba. There were often other relatives there too including great Aunts, cousins and their parents. At this small cottage, I learned how much I loved trees and swimming; rocks and boats. My grandfather had a large collection of books. They had pump organ and stain glased lampshades. Above all, Grandpa had a great love of life and people. He spoke in a load booming voice, loved to hold and tickle his grandchildren...and take He retired in 1965 as Vice President and General Manager of the Fort William Elevator Company. He was a long-time member of the Winnipeg Grain Exchange, of which he was a director for more than fifteen years. He transitioned in 1971 at the age of 80. He lived a very full and productive life and begrudged leaving it. Bill's older brother inherited the family farm ( which was in the family from 1815 to 1980's). So, Bill went off to the city of Winnipeg in 1909 to earn his living starting as a shoe salesman and retiring in 1965 as Vice President and General Manager of the Fort William Elevator Company. He was a long-time member of the Winnipeg Grain Exchange, of which he was a director for more than fifteen years.He was 6' tall with balck hair and hazel eyes. Some of Bill's happy childhood memories were of how visiting Roblins from Rochester liked to ride the ponies, play in the hayloft of new mown hay, and watch the milking of cows.Bill's mother died when he was 8 and his step-mother was hard on him.His mother was a quaker and he remembers going to " church, shared with the Methodists. We might sit for an hour and then ( Isa Wilson) would get up and preach her sermon.". I Bill met his future wife Bessie at a snow shoe club event after he moved to Winnipeg. In Winnipeg, he became an active member of Westminister United Church. He was counting the offering one Sunday morning with ? Laing and their children Betty Kotchapaw and Alan Laing who were assisting first met each other and eventually married. Bill was a member of the Kiwanis club for more than 43 year and elected president in 1944. He was their all-time leading apple salesman and never failed to place in the exclusive 100 plus category since the campaign started in 1930. Active in fraternal work,Bill was a life member of the St James Masonic Lodge and of the Scottish rite. He served as illustrious potentate of the Shrine in 1958. He was noted for his lovely gardens both in Winnipeg and at his cottage in Lac du Bonnet and was a member of the St James and Winnipeg horticultural socities. He was once chairman of the St James School Board and a member of the Canadian Club and the Winnipeg Winter Club. He enjoyed his cigars and his buicks. He spent most of his spare time tending his vegetable and flower gardens. He loved his extended family deeply and encouraged children, grandchildren and in-laws to stay at the cottage. Every year, he generously paid for all his children and grandchildrenthen living in Winnipeg to attend the annual Kiwanis Cristmas dinner and the Shrine Circus. in his will left bequests to his four daughters and his twelve grandchildren.

  
  

• Sources

  [S150] Rosalyn Insley, Rosalyn Insley. [S193] Betty Alison AUSLANDER nee ENGLISH, Betty Alison AUSLANDER nee ENGLISH Email. [S422] 1901 Canadian Census, (Location: http://automatedgenealogy.com/census/NationalSummary.jsp). [S106] Ancestry.ca Ontario Birth Records. [S182] Jeffery Charles Roblin. [S419] Katherine McLean.