William (Bill) Swinimer, a beloved community member, successful businessman, and philanthropist well known for his support of Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital, has died at age 79.
After a decline in health in recent years, Swinimer died at his home on Monday.
In the wake of his death, his family and members of the community have been discussing his legacy, using words like generous, captivating, role model, hero, and humble to describe the man whose impact and list of accomplishments in the community are just as large.
To name a few, Swinimer and his family recently donated $500,000 toward a new MRI machine for the hospital, on top of contributions he has made to the local health-care system over the years.
Coming from humble beginnings in Nova Scotia, Swinimer first worked in banking upon his move to Orillia, before getting involved in plastic manufacturing and amassing numerous companies, and the respect of countless employees, over the course of his life.
For nearly two decades, Swinimer’s friend, Betsy Gross, has organized the annual William (Bill) Swinimer Business Leader of the Year Award to recognize business leadership in the community, in his honour.
In October, Swinimer was inducted into Orillia’s Hall of Fame for his lifetime of excellence in the business field.
If you ask his family and friends, however, they will likely tell you his most impressive accomplishment was how he conducted himself as a person and how many lives he touched.
“He’s always been my role model, but it did not take him long to become a role model to just about anyone he encountered,” said his son, Dan. “I think it’s partly because of his success, but I believe that success is rooted in the fact that he just loves people. He loves all different kinds of people. He loves all different kinds of personalities.”
It’s a trait Dan saw at work first-hand in his father’s factory — that he always made time for people and genuinely cared about their lives.
“When you talk to Bill Swinimer, you feel loved, you feel appreciated. It doesn’t matter what your salary is; it doesn’t matter what size your house is.”
Swinimer’s daughter, Amanda, said her father had a way of bringing out the best in others and would make himself available to anyone who needed to have a chat about life.
“He had an ability to draw out the strengths in people and support those strengths to bring out the best in people. He did that with the employees. He did that with his children. It was like this superpower that he had, really seeing the best in people and drawing that out,” she said.
“People would come to the house, even people he didn’t know that well — sometimes ex-boyfriends of ours — with some life challenge, (and) they’d go in his office with him and he helped them out, and that was just such a big part of who he was.”
In the days since Swinimer’s passing, his children said they have received many messages from family, friends and others — some of whom they don’t know well, or at all — about the impact he had on their lives.
“He is the ultimate rock, and he’s not just a rock for us. He’s a rock for his extended family. He’s a rock for friends. He’s a rock for the community of Orillia. He’s always there,” said Dan.
Those qualities, according to his daughter, Jennifer, stem from her father’s humble beginnings growing up as the youngest of five in a poor family in Nova Scotia.
Despite his eventual success, Jennifer said, money never mattered as much to Swinimer as connection and family, and that generosity was a part of who he was well before he had any money.
“He always talks about how his grandpa, who owned the general store, used to give people the shirt off his back when they didn’t have much to begin with,” she said. “I think that might be some of the roots where his generosity came from.”
Because of those qualities, Swinimer supported a variety of organizations over the years, said his wife, Susan.
His interest in supporting local health care began years ago, she said, when the hospital was experiencing issues.
“Quite a few years ago, the hospital was having some problems at that time,” she said. “He identified with the hospital, and he thought that it was important that a smaller community like Orillia was able to keep their own hospital so that we could have care here.”
Carmine Stumpo, president and CEO at Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital, noted Swinimer served on the hospital board, donating his time, business acumen, and money generously over the years.
“Bill had a presence in a room. He could tell a story like no other and engage a crowd. I will miss that,” Stumpo said. “He was a captivating, engaging individual, and always smiling.”
His significant contribution to the hospital’s new MRI machine will serve as a long-standing reminder of Swinimer’s contributions, Stumpo said.
“It will serve as a lasting legacy of … care for years to come,” he said. “We’re really grateful for the contribution from Bill and his family to the ongoing service delivery here at the hospital.”
For Gross, naming an annual business award after Swinimer was an idea that came naturally in conversation with the Orillia Business Association.
“I (told) them as a group, ‘I would like to name this after Bill Swinimer because he’s such a leader, such a good employer,’ and they all agreed. He’s outstanding. I will miss him terribly,” she said.
“The fact that he’s in the Orillia Hall of Fame is just another way of saying everybody agrees with me.”
A celebration of Swinimer’s life is being planned for the spring.
