Mr. William Stanimir
(January 25th, 1922 - June 10th, 2005)

William Stanimir was born in Pointe St. Charles, and as he would often tell everyone, on Robert Burns' Day - January 25th, 1922. He was the youngest and only son in a family of four children. His father, Konstantin, an immigrant from Ternopol, Ukraine, began working as a butcher in Point St. Charles, and later started a company that manufactured trinkets. Bill attended public school at Sarsfield, and continued his studies at the Montreal Technical School where he obtained his degree in 1941 as Certified Technician (C.T.). His plans, at that time, for the following three years were to continue studying at McGill to obtain his engineering degree. Unfortunately, for Bill, World War II disrupted his ambitions. He accepted a position at Defense Industries Ltd. (Dominion Ammunitions), a government munitions manufacturing plant in Verdun. After acquiring considerable experience, he resigned in 1943 and joined his father's machine shop, Victoria Precision Works Co. Ltd., which was incorporated in 1941, to manufacture aircraft components, tools and dies for the war effort.
In 1945, Victoria Precision Works was approached by Woolworth's department store to create 25 tricycles for a promotional campaign that the five-and-dime was launching. The tricycles created an immediate buzz with shoppers, and Leader bikes were born.
And so, Bill and his father Konstantin decided to tool up for the production of children's tricycles while still maintaining the machine shop operation. After his father's death, in 1966, Bill became president and chief executive officer. Bill was the driving force behind the company. Leader bikes were sold to Eaton's, the Hudson Bay Company and other major accounts across the country. During its peak years of production, Victoria Precision Works turned out 175,000 swift and sturdy Leader/Minelli two and three wheelers annually right up until the early 1990's, when free-trade and cheaper imports made it impossible to compete.
As stalwart and dependable as the bicycles he manufactured, Bill Stanimir was a leader. He was a tireless promoter of bicycle culture and an original sponsor of the Tour de Ile, a 45 kilometer cycling odyssey around the island of Montreal, which recently marked its 21st anniversary.
Although Bill never visited Ukraine, he was a prominent booster of the Montreal's Ukrainian community and was a founding member of the Father Josaphat Jean Ukrainian Scholarship Foundation, and played a key role in assisting young Montreal Canadians of Ukrainian origin in their quest to achieve their dreams. Bill Stanimir was always driven to see people schooled and people skilled. His yearly financial contributions to the Scholarship Fund have created a Special Scholarship in his father's name, the Konstantin Scholarship award, for the last 42 years.
Bill Stanimir had a zest for life. He was compassionate, and always upbeat. He was a man who never gave up, he was always pushing. He will always be remembered for his ethics, his empathy, and by our Father Josaphat Jean Foundation.
Bill Stanimir died of cancer on June 10th, 2005. He was 83. He is survived by his wife of 58 years Olga (Chaika), and their four children, William, Philip, Gerald, and Lillian.