William Norman Shapleigh Heron

Obituary

It is with deep sadness that we share the loss of our beloved Bill.

Born William Norman Shapleigh Heron on June 11, 1953, in Detroit, Michigan, Bill passed away suddenly on December 18, 2025. Raised in both Detroit and Bermuda, his family later settled in Oakville, Ontario where he met his first wife at Oakville Trafalgar High School, and raised both their children, David and Catherine (Katy).

A devoted educator, Bill spent 25 years with the Toronto District School Board. Known for his patience and warmth, he taught woodshop and home economics at Market Lane Junior and Senior Public School before specializing in special education and ESL. Bill had a rare gift for encouraging and empathizing with his students—especially those new to Canada. He was the kind of teacher who knew that each individual child had different needs, who kept track of which children had never seen snow, and quietly took them outside so they could learn to make their first snowballs in private.

He was passionate about sharing his interests with his young children, reading or singing to them nightly. He was an enthusiastic contributor to every ambitious tower of blocks, every puzzle, every weekend project, saying “yes” far more often than “no.” Literature, music, theatre and film were a central part of home life. As his children grew, he found new ways to share his interests with the world, volunteering at the South Simcoe Railway in Tottenham, Ontario. There he flagged trains, built a small museum, and inspired countless visitors with his love of steam engines and railway history.

After the loss of his first wife, Jinny Kay Heron, Bill’s relationships with his children deepened across the space left behind. Their family bond became one defined by candor, humor, genuine acceptance, and profound unconditional love. Both children cherished his unique way of seeing and interacting with the world.

Bill summered in Newfound Lake and Bridgewater Hill his entire life, first as a child, and later with his siblings and children. Bill eventually settled there, in a beautiful “second act” of his life, with loving partner Virginia Kirmayer Slayton. They married in 2021, surrounded by family and friends. He became a part of the Slayton family, travelling with them countless times to Higgins Beach each summer. He was a member of the Bridgewater community, lending his beautiful reading voice to both church and summer Vespers services. He was a fixture on the Bridgewater Hill Association Beach every summer, often found reading the latest book club selection, or floating on the lake in a Dr. Seuss t-shirt, holding hands with his wife.

He was a weeper. A giggler. He was the kind of man who didn't care if a toddler smeared cocktail cherries down the front of his new white shirt. Some sources claim the last time he raised his voice was in 1997, however, accounts vary. 

Bill is survived by his children, David Victor (Chelsea), and Catherine Shapleigh (Casey), and his wife, Virginia Kirmayer Slayton. He is lovingly remembered by stepsons, Jeremy (Barbara) and Christopher (Cindy). All of their children were cherished, beloved grandchildren to him: Samuel, Jackson, Timothy, Caitlin and Bryse. Other close family includes his brother Chuck, sister Suzanne and her husband Dolf, all his nieces and nephews: Kate, Marian, Eric, Daniel, Alex, and Emily. He is predeceased by his first wife, Jinny Kay.

Bill loved giving strong and lengthy hugs, he loved Rodgers and Hammerstein, doing cryptic crossword puzzles with a sharp pencil, genealogy, jigsaw puzzles, and keeping a very tall stack of books by his favourite chair. He loved singing Bob Dylan to his daughter, reading Sherlock Holmes to his son, and Alexander McCaul Smith to his wife, Virginia. He loved starting fires at the farm for the family on cold mornings, he loved Robert Frost, Hercule Poirot, and flannel shirts from L.L. Bean. He loved Scrabble, and not letting children win at board games. Except for Timmy, who he loved losing to, often. Bill loved how much Jack loved science, and that “Beowulf” appeared on his Christmas List at age ten. He loved playing the guitar with Sam, and every single walk they took in the woods. He loved his ugly sneakers, refilling the birdfeeders, humming to himself, taking too long to tell a story, and asking people a lot of questions. He loved framing and hanging Virginia's art. He loved when Martha Dolben played the piano. He loved Harvey's Bristol Cream, Jeremy's gin & tonics, and Christopher's scallops. He loved The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, Keith Jarrett, Miles Davis, The Temptations and The Supremes. He loved his old Ford pick up truck, figuring out how to build something, getting to rent a stump grinder, driving to the beach in the Miata, spoiling children generally, and talking about the movie Rashomon to people who really didn’t care about it very much.

And he almost certainly loved you.

He was our Bill, so distinctly Bill, and he will be deeply missed by his enormous family, his close friends, and the communities he was part of.

Gallery

Memory wall

Service