Dad’s Last Column – Bill Vance – HISTORICAL SKETCHES
When you open your edition of Old Autos, you’re supposed to find ‘Historical Sketches’ on the first page of the second section, but that long and dependable fixture at the paper has come to an end. My Dad, Bill Vance, passed away on Monday September 19, 2022, at the age of 86 as one of Canada’s most respected automotive historians.
He had written for Old Autos since its beginning and it was always nice for us to hear, “Your Dad is Bill Vance? I love his column in Old Autos.” Dad was very proud to be able to offer his faithful, loyal and knowledgeable readers regular columns which were not only engaging and accessible, but also historically accurate and well-written. He was supremely grateful to have been given that opportunity and he devotedly wrote for you, his dear readers, until the very end of his life, even editing from a laptop in a hospital bed before coming home in the last few days. I think you would agree that upon finishing one of his pieces you would invariably think, “Gee, that’s so interesting!”