Obituary of Adam William Roney

Roney, Adam William (Bill) July 21, 1938-February 16, 2017 Bill was born at Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal; the son of Gerald VanLuven Roney Sr. and Kathleen Cecilia McNamee.. He was predeceased by his brother Gordon Frederick Roney, and by sister-in-law Marian (MacMillan). Bill is survived by his brother Gerald Jr., by nephews Michael (Sandy), Stephen (Vaneza), Gerald III, Chris (Tammy); niece Diana (Gerard Gaudet); and six grandnephews and grandnieces. Mentally disadvantaged from a difficult childbirth, Bill was destined to remain a child for life, albeit a generally happy one. When he reached school age, there were no facilities in Canada for the education of children with his disability, so the boy was enrolled at an expensive specialized school in Philadelphia, where, after one term, he concluded that Residential Schools were not to his liking: Bill was thereafter home-schooled by his mother, learning to read and - with difficulty - to write; but arithmetic forever eluded him. Throughout his 78 years of life, he loved trains, stuffed animals, happily-ever-after stories, Christmas lights, good music, St. Mary's Cathedral, and downtown Kingston, where he was so often seen. He disliked guitars (especially in church), Rock Music, and violence of any kind in movies or stories. After a tumble and a resulting hospital stay, Bill lost the ability to walk, and spent his final nine years in a wheelchair, a resident of Providence Manor - the invariably kind, competent, and caring staff of which have earned the family's profound appreciation. How happy Bill was to reside there, and how fortunate he was to have been admitted Bill died there Thursday, peacefully and painlessly, after a brief illness. Visitation will take place Monday, February 20, 2:00 to 4:00 and 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at JAMES REID FUNERAL HOME, 1900 John Counter Blvd, followed at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday by a Funeral Mass in the Providence Manor Our Mother of Sorrows Chapel. Bill will be interred with his parents in St. John's Cemetery, Gananoque, at a later date. (And a special thanks to the valiant St. Mary's usher who, many times, pushed this 260 pounds hulk, in a wheelchair, all the way back to Providence, when Bill so frequently missed the Access Bus; and to the sympathetic strangers who occasionally did the same when Bill couldn't make it back up the hill from downtown.) In lieu of flowers, donations to Providence Manor have been greatly merited.