Bill Rowe, the patriarch of a deep-rooted Hay River family, died this week at the age of 90.
A longtime entrepreneur, mechanic, contractor and northern drilling pioneer, Rowe passed away on Jan. 18.
He was born in Berwyn, Alta., on Aug. 24, 1931 and raised on his family’s farm — a location he would return to and enjoy in his later years.
Throughout his life, he made many excursions into the Northwest Territories, beginning in 1949 in mineral exploration. He eventually settled in Hay River for much of his adulthood.
Jack, one of Rowe’s six children, said that the early post-Second World War years was a unique period in the territory’s history, when there was much demand for drilling gold and other minerals.
“He actually came north to Hay River then on through to Yellowknife and up to Great Bear Lake in 1949 diamond drilling,” Jack said.
In the early 50s, Bill returned to the south and worked in the oil patch before coming back to Hay River in 1952, again as a mechanic.
It was around this time he met the love of his life, Rita, whom he married on Jan. 20, 1953 in Peace River, Alta.
During the mid-1950s, Bill worked as a mechanic in Hay River, then a town of about 900 people with roughly six fishing outfits operating.
In 1958, he moved to Enterprise to operate a restaurant, garage and service station for two years.
“So my father was involved in various things but he was pretty well self-employed,” Jack recalled. “He was either working as a mechanic for fishermen or he was setting up his own shop.”
In 1968, Bill partnered with another prominent Hay River resident, Keith Broadhead, to start B and R Construction, which undertook much work in the early ’70s with construction on Highway 1 to Fort Simpson, various other highway projects thoughout the North, development in Fort Smith and much growth within the Town of Hay River.
The company did site preparation for the original Hay River fish plant, which is now being replaced.
B and R Construction also completed infill work for Northern Transportation Company Limited on Island D during the early ’70s when many companies were preparing for the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline.
Bill also looked after the landscaping as Diamond Jenness Secondary School was being built.
“They did the construction business with gravel hauling, bulldozers and graders and whatnot and operated on until 1975,” Jack said.
Jack and brother Mike bought a few pieces of equipment from Bill to start Rowe’s Construction, in which many family members later became involved and where they continue to work today.
By the mid-’70s Bill and Rita acquired his family farm in Berwyn and they moved south to operate it until he retired at age 75.
In 2019, the couple returned to Hay River yet again, where Bill resided during his final years. Rita passed away in 2020.
Jack said Bill always loved the North and told fascinating stories about drilling and working at a time when the region had far fewer people and was undergoing significant development.
“He talked a lot about the North when he first came up diamond drilling at Contact Lake in 1949,” said Jack.
Bill is survived by his children: Jack, Mark, Mike, Greg, Owen and Becky, their spouses and many grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.
A service in his memory will be held on Jan. 24 in Berwyn, Alta.
Because of public health gathering restrictions, the family was making arrangements to stream the service online for viewers in Hay River and for people who can’t attend.