Ralph Dixon Willan's story began on March 27, 1955 in the town of Kamloops, British Columbia, the province he would spend the rest of his life extolling as "the headquarters of God's creation." Born to Frederick and Margaret (Horner) Willan, he was the proud and doting older brother of Donna. Among his fondest memories of childhood were his experiences in Scouts Canada, adventuring through the British Columbian wilderness and learning all he could along the way. His enthusiasm later inspired his own children to become Scouts.

Ralph would have told you that the most significant milestone in his life came in the summer of 1973 when, by the grace of God, he came to have faith in Jesus Christ. He cherished nothing in his life more than that gift of his salvation, and he spent every day of his life after it serving the God he loved.

Ralph graduated BCIT with a diploma in Forestry, launching him into a rewarding career in forest management that included planting, logging, and fire fighting. He recalled those adventures fondly for the rest of his life, and could tell you more about trees and soil than you could hope to retain.

It was only a few years later that he felt God calling him to serve as a pastor. Obedient to the God's leading, he left everything behind — the home province he cherished, his beloved family and friends, a career that thrilled him — and enrolled at Toronto Baptist Seminary, earning a Bachelor of Theology in 1985.

A casual meeting in a kitchen lit the spark that ultimately saw Ralph and Eliza (Kallonen) marry on January 11, 1992. Together they had two children, Emily and Jonathan. He and Emily passed many an hour in intense conversations of the meaty matters of life, liberally dosed with mutual teasing. He and Jonathan shared a love of the outdoors and of mechanical things. One of Ralph's great joys was being able to perform the marriage ceremony of Jonathan and his wife, Samantha (Jennings) in 2020. He will also be missed by his many cousins, nieces, and nephews.

Ralph served in many churches in many roles, always relishing the opportunity to serve God and his Church family. His most recent role was as senior pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Brampton, Ontario for fourteen years, where he earned the respect and love of his church family.

Ralph was promoted to Heaven on the morning of September 22, 2022 at Trillium Hospital in Mississauga, Ontario. He had undergone heart surgery two days earlier (his second in a year following a devastating bacterial infection that attacked his heart) and died of post-surgical complications. His family are extremely grateful to the brilliant, dedicated, and compassionate team at Trillium Mississauga, in particular his cardiac surgeon Dr. Joseph Norra, who battled so relentlessly for Ralph's life, health, and wellbeing, even in the face of overwhelming challenges.

We will be celebrating Ralph's life with a visitation on Tuesday, September 27 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Calvary Baptist Church (7975 Hurontario Street, Brampton, ON). There will be an additional visitation on Wednesday, September 28 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., also at Calvary Baptist Church, with the funeral to follow. The interment will be at Meadowvale Cemetery. The family are accepting donations to The Bible Project, an organization producing videos with high quality illustrations/animations and down-to-earth explanations of the Bible, which you can find on YouTube.