A 'man of community': Remembering Cambridge Bay's Bill Lyall

Bill Lyall, a fisher, hunter, former MLA and co-op leader in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut is being remembered by his eldest grandson as a confidant, a hard worker and a "man of community."

"He was always very supportive … and very ready to help people," said Qulluyak (Kull) Lyall. "I knew him as dada. My dada was a very slow-speaking individual. He spoke slowly out of habit. I think he put a lot of weight into his words."

Bill Lyall died on Tuesday, and is survived by his wife, Jessie Lyall.

Kull said he was someone you could confide in without judgment. He was also the first person to offer a helping hand, if someone needed snow cleared or if airline travel got complicated and someone was stuck in Cambridge Bay.

Before his health declined, Lyall would put on a fireworks show for New Year's Eve.

"He would put on fireworks every year in Cambridge Bay. It was always something to look forward to," said his grandson.

In the days since Lyall passed, Kull has found solace in being able to hear his grandfather's voice again in an interview he did with CBC seven years ago.

In the interview, Lyall spoke about being the long-time leader of Arctic Co-operatives Limited, and how co-ops gave people in communities something they could own and be proud of while helping one another.

He also saw it as a way for Nunavummiut to do what they want and remain free of southern influence.

"They really owned it and they were benefiting from it," he said in the interview.

Arctic Co-operatives Limited coordinates 31 community co-ops in Nunavut and the N.W.T. Lyall saw it as a way to help each other survive in a harsh environment and wrote about it in his book, Helping Ourselves by Helping Each Other: The Life Story of William Lyall. 

In the archival interview, Kull said his grandfather was asked about how hardships formed him as a person. 

"It's almost like he spoke to me through that question and his answer. He said, 'The hard times, I look back at them and I say I've been there and now I'm here and I'm going to move forward.'"

Kull hopes people who knew his grandfather will take those words with them to remember their own strength.