Bill Pringle memorial planned today in Whitehorse
A Carcross man with decades of public service in the North behind him will be honoured at a memorial service in Whitehorse today.
Bill Pringle was an RCMP officer who worked in communities across the North during his 31 years in policing.
He recently died at his home in Carcross at age 80.
Both Pringle and Reub Fendrick came North about 60 years ago as young Mounties and became close friends.
“He was a great guy," Fendrick says. "He was good at his job, he was agreeable, never said bad things about too many people. I think he was just a nice guy.”
Fendrick says Pringle brought a common sense attitude to policing and respect for the people living in northern communities.
“He was concerned with keeping the peace,” Fendrick says. “He wasn't concerned with statistics, and he was very good with the people there.”
Pringle's first posting to Carcross was in 1959. He worked in other communities, including Taloyoak, Nunavut, when it was still known as Spence Bay.
He eventually retired in Carcross, taking up a second career as the school bus driver.
Fendrick says Pringle stayed close to the many friends he made over the years.
“We got together once a week probably at coffee and he just leaves a gap,” Fendrick says. “Every time I went to Skagway, I went for coffee, so, there's going to be a big gap for myself and a lot of other people. It was just nice to be with him — swapping stories for one thing.”
The service for Bill Pringle takes place at the United Church in Whitehorse at 2 p.m.
