Obituary of Francis William Dalglish

Peacefully with family members present, Francis William Dalglish of London Ontario, husband of the late Marianne Dalglish, son of the late June and William Kennedy Dalglish. Father of Frank, Fran, Peter and Michael, grandfather of Michelle, Michael, Peter and Annelie, great grandfather of Sam. Born in Montreal in 1925, Bill was educated at De La Salle College in Toronto and Appleby College in Oakville. From an early age he developed a fascination with automobiles and went on to acquire a formidable collection. Bill was one of the first employees of Volkswagen Canada, where he met Marianne Frank. Bill and Marianne married in Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Toronto in 1953 and then moved to London ON, where from a small garage on Colborne Street Bill launched Dalmar Motors, which today is the oldest originally owned VW dealership in Canada. In 1968 Bill imported the first Audi into Canada. Dalmar Motors prospered, and over the ensuing decades employed many Londoners in its sales office and workshop. Bill prided himself in knowing the names of all his employees, and served as the president of the Federal Automobile Dealers Association of Canada. Bill and Marianne enjoyed summers at Jackson’s Point Lake Simcoe, auto shows in Frankfurt, and the company of the original Volkswagen fraternity in Canada. Bill was an active member of the Royal Canadian Regiment and served with the 1st Hussars Reserve Unit of the Canadian Army based from the Dundas Street Armoury in London. . The family would like to thank the staff at the Longworth Retirement Residence in London for the extraordinarily high quality of care that they provided over the past three years. Additionally, our family is deeply grateful to Abin, Gherry, Pupli and Agata of Medical Priorities for their loyalty and personal attention. Visitors will be received at the John T. Donohue Funeral Home, 362 Waterloo Street at King Street, London on Wednesday April 15th from 2-4 & 7-9 o’clock. Funeral Mass will be held at St. Peter’s Basilica, 196 Dufferin Street, London, Ontario on Thursday April 16th at 10 o’clock. Interment St. Peter’s Cemetery. Online condolences can be made at www.donohuefuneralhome.ca