Two longtime leaders of Whitehorse’s ElderActive Recreation Association (ERA) will enter the Yukon Sports Hall of Fame in the builder category at a ceremony later this month.

The late William “Bill” Simpson and his wife, Diana, will enter the territory’s sports shrine Nov. 20 during Sport Yukon’s annual awards night at the Yukon Convention Centre.

The award will be accepted by the Simpson children – Stuart, Doug and Susan – as Diana is currently hospitalized in Medicine Hat, Alta., where she recently moved to join her daughter.

Speaking on behalf of the family yesterday, Stuart Simpson said his father would be floored by the prestigious honour.

Bill died in June of this year after struggling with heart disease. He was 80 years old.

“Dad would be pretty humble about it,” said Stuart, a resident of Atlin, B.C., who at age 51 is the eldest of the Simpsons’ three children. “He’d be cracking some jokes. There’d definitely be some humour and humility.”

His 73-year-old mom would also attempt to brush off the award, he said.

“She’d be proud, but humble,” Stuart said of his ailing mother. “All of us are hugely proud. We’ve always been proud of Mom and Dad.”

The Simpsons contributed greatly to the well-being of seniors and elders throughout the Yukon in the area of sport and recreation, said current ERA president Tom Parlee, who nominated the couple to Sport Yukon for the hall of fame induction.

The duo helped create the ERA, which fosters active living and physical activity through participation in sport and recreation.

In the process, they also built the structure for Team Yukon to participate in the biennial Canada 55+ Games.

Growing up, the Simpson family’s kitchen table seemed to be constantly covered in stacks of papers concerning events the couple was organizing.

Meanwhile, recent family get-togethers consistently featured competitive games of horseshoes.

“He always said: ‘You’ve got to stay active,’” Stuart said of his father.

“Apparently he told that to a lot of people. Just growing up as a kid, Dad got us active in a lot of things.

“Those were goals we never knew he was instilling in us as kids.”

Stuart recalls his childhood featuring unicycles, stilts, and annual fishing trips to Haines, Alaska.

“We fished every creek from here to Dawson Creek,” he said.

In more recent years, Bill successfully competed in the Canada 55+ Games as a bowler, and won gold in bocce during the territory’s record haul of 79 medals at the 2012 event in Sydney, N.S.

“He actually only competed a couple of times,” said Parlee. “He was more involved in the planning, and was a national director for about five years. He took on leadership roles that kept him very busy.”

Bill first competed at the 1998 Canada 55+ Games as an athlete, with Diana joining him for support.

In 2000, ERA was established as a non-governmental organization, with the intention of forming Team Yukon for future Canada 55+ Games.

Bill and Diana returned to the 2002 event in Summerside, P.E.I., and after two successful experiences, decided to help ERA bid to host their own event.

The Simpsons were instrumental in making the 2004 Canada 55+ Games in Whitehorse a huge success, with more than 1,200 athletes from across the country participating.

They continued their leadership roles with ERA well after the Whitehorse event concluded.

Momentum for Team Yukon grew once word of the Canada 55+ Games spread, so the Simpsons worked diligently to put the proper structure in place, said Parlee.

This included fund-raising each year, establishing an organizing committee, starting traditions such as pep rallies to build team spirit – Team Yukon has been presented with the Spirit of the Games Award four times – and selecting team uniforms.

Bill went on to represent the Yukon on the national board for the Canada 55+ Games from 2007 to 2012.

He and Diana built links, relationships and partnerships between the ERA and other recreation organizations in the territory.

The Simpsons were the guiding force behind the ERA for a decade, helping to increase club membership from just 50 in 2000 to 500 members in 2014.

In 2011, Bill received the Commissioner’s Award for public service in recognition of his work with ERA.

At the time, Bill noted he could not have done any of his volunteer work without Diana’s support.

Bill worked tirelessly for the local ERA until his death.

Through countless hours of dedicated service, the Simpsons provided leadership, vision, and mentoring, said Parlee.

Parlee sat with Bill on the ERA board of directors for many years.

“Bill had a way of encouraging people to take part,” said Parlee. “He had a way about him that moved people to do things. We spent a lot of time together and he was always thinking, planning, trying to get something done.”

Today, Bill and Diana’s legacy is a strong sport and recreation organization serving Yukoners.

“The association owes them a great deal,” said Parlee. “It’s big shoes to fill.

“Before we had an office, they ran ElderActive out of their basement. They were the leaders, the planners, the policy-makers. ... They took on leadership roles and had vision about what the organization needed to inspire seniors to be more active.”

Born in small-town Rolla, B.C., Bill eventually met Diana, a native of Grande Prairie, Alta., at a baseball game in Fort Nelson.

The two married and eventually moved to Whitehorse, where Bill was employed as a highway construction foreman until his retirement.

While he was never regarded as a serious athlete, Bill’s interests ranged from baseball to soccer, then marksmanship and five-pin bowling.

Bill was always interested in “competitive sports that take skill,” said Stuart, such as darts and horseshoes.

“Even up until he passed away, I could barely beat him at horseshoes,” Stuart admitted, adding both he and brother Doug have pits installed in their backyard to honour the family tradition.

The hall of fame award and ensuing recognition has caused the Simpson children to become retrospective in regards to their parents’ contribution to sports in the territory.

Stuart said when his family was informed of the nomination by ERA officials, he and his siblings were overwhelmed with the amount of effort his parents poured into the Yukon senior sports scene.

“We had no idea the extent of the work they had done,” he admitted.

“Dad was always busy and Mom was always helping. She was always behind the scenes.

“I’d just like to give a shoutout to all the people that were Mom and Dad’s friends and co-volunteers,” said Stuart. “They really made their life enjoyable for the last number of years.”

Meanwhile, the ERA continues to play a significant role in seniors’ health, said Parlee.

“We encourage seniors to be more active and we develop programs to help them do that,” he said. “One of the really important things we do is provide a subsidy for seniors at the Canada Games Centre to encourage them to be more active.

“Our membership has grown tremendously. We’re in a real growth spurt over the last 18 months or so. I think seniors are thinking more about being active.”

While the nomination was the only one Sport Yukon received for this year’s hall of fame induction, it came with overwhelming support from a variety of organizations, including the Canada 55+ Games’ national committee, Whitehorse Elks Lodge and the Golden Age Society.

A letter from Whitehorse Elks Lodge past president Barbara Evans lauded Bill’s work with the ERA as well as the Elks Lodge executive.

“Bill was the kind of volunteer any organization would love to have,” Evans wrote. “No matter the task, he was always ready to step up and help.”

Parlee and Sue Meikle, an active living consultant with the Yukon government, will present the award to the Simpsons at the Sport Yukon awards ceremony.