We are greatly saddened by the news of the passing of Lorne Williams, Academic Staff member of the Dhillon School of Business at the University of Lethbridge (Human Resource Management and Labour Relations) on Saturday, April 8, 2023 after his diagnosis of various aggressive forms of cancer.
Williams served on the University of Lethbridge Faculty Association Executive as Chair of the Handbooks Committee in 2011-2012, and he sat on the University Senate, the executive of the Alumni Association, and was inducted into the U of L Alumni Honour Society. Williams spent nearly 15 years in managerial positions in the housing and hospitality business units at the U of L and the University of Calgary, while furthering his education with four degrees: A Bachelor of Arts, University of Calgary; a Bachelor of Management, U of L; a Master of Arts, Leadership and Training, Royal Roads University; and a Master of Education, U of L. He also consulted widely on team building, leadership and corporate culture for public, private and not-for-profit organizations of all sizes. Lorne was an avid volunteer with the Calgary Board of Education, Kamp Kiwanis, Scouts Canada, and was as an active proponent of the SOS (Supporting our Students) initiative at the U of L, acting as co-Chair of the 2013-2014 campaign. Before arriving at the University of Lethbridge, Williams helped administer the Olympic Village during the 1988 Winter Olympic games and worked in the political arena for several years, serving two Prime Ministers and a provincial Premier in Calgary and in Ottawa.
Williams recently worked as an Instructor at the U of L Calgary campus, and was honoured for his work and volunteerism. He is known for his outstanding contributions and ability to motivate, team build and develop leadership skills in his students. As a result, Williams received the U of L Instructor of the Year Award six times, and will be fondly remembered for his dedication and commitment to students and academia.
Please share your memories of Lorne and messages on this Google Form (requires a google account), or you send your memories to admin@ulfa.ca and we can add your comments to the google form. You can upload photos, videos, audio files, pdf’s, google documents, word documents or written messages. Up to 10 files at 1GB each will be accepted, for a total of 10GB per response. ULFA will collect this information and send it directly to Lorne’s partner Wendy.
A Celebration of Life service for Lorne Williams will take place on Sunday, May 28, from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m., at the Triwood Community Centre at 2244 Chicoutimi Dr. NW, Calgary. The doors will open at 2:30 p.m. with the program starting at 3:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family has created the Lorne Williams Memorial Scholarship and asks that donations be directed here: go.uleth.ca/Lorne-Williams-Fund.
The obituary for Lorne Williams
The condolence notice about Lorne’s passing on the University of Lethbridge Notice Board
