09/09/2025
Ron's eulogy, written by Joel Janits and Krystal, read by Jason Billingham as we placed Ron Billingham to rest:
It is an honour to speak today, and pay tribute to Ron Billingham, an exceptional man who touched the lives of all who had the privilege to call him father, brother, husband, or friend.
Ron passed away peacefully on Wednesday, after losing a short battle with cancer. He was 73 years old. Ron led a remarkable life surrounded by the colourful characters that he met along the way.
His story is one of a life well lived. Ron grew up in the bustling streets of Montreal, where he married his first wife and had his two oldest sons, Jason and Chris. Eventually he left Quebec and hit the road with his guitar thrown over his back. A coin toss over whether to head to Arizona or the Yukon landed him up north, where he furthered his career in communications and public relations for the Yukon government, and was well known for advising the Yukon’s legislators.
After several relationships and a couple of more marriages, Ron met Cindy at a house party in 2005, where she made an impression on him after a passionate argument over who made the best Yorkshire pudding. They began dating, and eventually, the two found the love that they spent their lives looking for. On July 13, 2013, the couple married, and Ron added two more youth to his newly blended family, Krystal and AJ.
Ron and Cindy were known for entertaining their wide network of friends, often at the various homes they collected across Whitehorse over the years. The pair were the perfect match to throw a party.
His sense of humour was something that all those who knew him will certainly cherish and remember. Whether he was sitting around the dinner table or around the burning embers of a campfire, all those around him where in for a treat.
Ron loved the outdoors, and loved even more to share his many hobbies, which included archery, playing guitar, carving wood, hunting and fishing, and drawing. He taught the youth in his life to love those hobbies too, and whether it was a niece, nephew, one of his children or their friends, no one left a summer with Ron without a lesson.
Ron left his imprint on all those around him where he was most in his element, under the light of the midnight sun, around the warmth of a campfire.
At Kusawa Lake Campground Ron was known for carving whimsical faces into trees, called campfire spirits. He conned unsuspecting campers to conjure what he called “the campfire spirits” by convincing the campers to march in circles around the fire and repeat “ohwa tanass iam” over and over until the chanters realized what they were actually saying.
Ron was a true outdoorsman, and whether he was grazed by grizzly bears running past him as he chopped wood in Kluane, or was throwing his son Chris out of a rushing river to save him in Lake Placid, his passion and skill for the backcountry held a great roll in his life and the legacy he has left on all of us.
Whether you had the pleasure of experiencing adventures, or misadventures alongside him, or heard them around a campfire, there is no doubt that the stories he told or the hobbies he shared represented the qualities of a true Yukoner.
He also loved cats, and brought several of them camping as well, most notably “Kitty Witty.”
The adventures that he and his beloved wife shared spanned the reaches of the Yukon and beyond, whether it was with close encounters with campfire animals or dining under the stars during first class vacations on the seven seas, Ron lived to the fullest.
As I said, Ron lived a remarkable life. He was successful in work, life, and love. He was an outdoorsman that shared his passions with everyone that he encountered, never failing to teach the youth around him the hobbies he practiced throughout his life, instilling a love of the great outdoors in the next generation.
He was a man who deeply loved his family and friends, and his patience, understanding and encouragement has left a lasting impression on all those that knew him.
Ron was incredibly smart, witty, accepting, talented and kind. He will be greatly missed.
