Obituary of Willy Schmitchen

SCHMITCHEN, Willy – Passed away peacefully at Meadow Park Nursing Home, Chatham on Tuesday, December 22, 2015 at the age of 78. He will be greatly missed by his wife of 44 years, June (Jinks), his son Paul (Maria) and grandsons Josh and Luke of Oakville, his sister, Hanna (Wib) Heukroth of Waterloo and brothers-in-law and their wives, Gordon Jinks (Carolyn) of Sudbury and Murray Jinks (Bonnie) of Chatham. Willy will also be missed by his dedicated visitor and helper for the past 4 years, Shelley Imeson. Predeceased by his parents, August and Olga Schmitchen and two brothers, Robert and Oswald. Willy was born in Poland and immigrated to Canada from East Germany in 1949. He worked for many years for Erie Beverage and Murphy Distributing. In his retirement he owned and operated Willy’s Coin Machines. He was probably better known as the Coke Cola man or the candy man. Willy spent many hours doing charitable work for the Chatham Sertoma Club. He was a life member and past President. He also found time to spend many days at the Blenheim Golf Course and to take camping trips with their trailer. Visitation will take place at McKinlay Funeral Home, Chatham on Sunday, December 27 from 2:00 – 4:00 and 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. The Funeral Service will take place at the Funeral Home on Monday, December 28 at 11:00 a.m. Interment in Maple Leaf Cemetery, Chatham. Donations may be made to Southwestern Ontario Parkinson’s Association or charity of your choice. Online condolences may be left at www.mckinlayfuneralhome.com McKinlay Funeral Home 459 St. Clair Street, Chatham 519-351-2040 <iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/150195309" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe> <p><a href="https://vimeo.com/150195309">Willy Schmitchen</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user27484248">McKinlay Funeral Homes Ltd.</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>