Obituary – Walter Joseph Hetman

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Husband, father, brother, neighbor, grandfather, great-grandfather, pioneer and friend describe Walter Joseph Hetman.

He was born in Fort St. John on September 16th, 1939. He was raised in North Pine and was the eldest of three sons of Joseph and Pauline Hetman. Walter worked on the North Pine farm with his dad and two brothers, Stanley and Tony. Later, he bought the old Vic Morris farm. During this time, Rose caught his eye, and they were married on July 8th, 1961. Farming, as we all know, isn’t for the faint of heart.

To make ends meet, he would work the rigs in the winter. During those years on the farm, Walter and Rose brought two children into the world. They continued to farm in North Pine until they decided to rent out the farm to brother Stan and move to Fort St. John. They bought a small house in town, but Walter was a farmer and needed land. They moved to an acreage in Grandhaven. Walter took courses in Dawson Creek to get his welding ticket. He worked at Derrick Machinery for a few years before deciding to put together his own welding truck and start working on his own on rigs across B.C. and Alberta. His handle was “Sparky”, which seemed to be a pretty good name for a welder.

In 1978, they bought a log house on five acres in Fish Creek. It was there that he built his dream shop and planted a garden with 600 hills of potatoes, and rows and rows of vegetables. Many enjoyed the fruits of their labour.

Walter loved all wildlife, and he loved dogs. Often, he would be seen wandering the farm with Jackie, heading out to the rig with Peppy or making room for Chips and Max on the couch. He greeted every dog he met as a new friend.

Some of us are well aware of his picture taking and storytelling. Walter would take photos and then explain to us in a sit-down every detail in each picture. For instance, there may have been a moose, miles in the distance that most of us could not see in the picture. Walter would, however, take the time to be our eyes and explain exactly where that moose was in the photo and the events leading up to the picture. His pictures included every place he travelled with a great fondness for his travels to the North Pole. Walter welded on rigs for over 40 years.

In their retirement, they moved to the City of Fort St. John. They stayed there for a couple of years before moving to Courtenay to be close to their daughter, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Living on Vancouver Island allowed him to go for walks year-round. He loved the walking trail along the ocean and loved the songs of birds. If he wasn’t doing that, he would be working his John Deere 420 at his daughter’s farm in Comox.

For Walter, Rose was the love of his life, and she was his for over 63 years. Those who had the pleasure of knowing Walter know that he was a kind-hearted heart. He held on to his journals since 1978 so he could refer to life’s events, and never failed to call his friends and family on their birthdays. Family and friends were important to Walter. Walter was a humble and grateful man, and a farmer in the truest sense of the word. The world was just a little bit nicer place to be with Walter in it.

Walter died peacefully on May 5th, 2025. The family wishes to thank Dr. Peter Kelly, and the nurses and the care aides at Ocean Front Village.

The family thanks all of their friends for their support and love. At this gathering in honour of Walter the husband, father, brother, neighbour, grandfather, great-grandfather, pioneer and friend, we are assured that he was well-liked, well respected, and will be well remembered.

We wish to leave you with the thought that Walter was, as he will continue to be, a gentle soul. If you ever come across a lady’s slipper flower in your travels, take a moment to think of Walter. It was his favourite flower.

Funeral services Friday, May 16th at 11 am – Christ The King Catholic Church, 1599 Tunner Dr, Courtenay, BC. Committal at the Courtenay Civic Cemetery.

Expressions of sympathy may be made to WeCan Shelter Society.