Jeff Rock alerted me to the passing of dealer and Conder token specialist Bill McKivor. Thanks. Here's his published obituary.
-Editor
Bill was a collector all his life. Of cars, tokens, historical memorabilia. But what he really loved collecting were stories. His friends and family remember him as someone who always had an interesting, funny or historical story to fit every occasion. And over his life, he sprinkled these stories into his work as a radio announcer, into talks he gave for his various clubs and into everyday conversations he'd have with just about anyone who was interested.
He was a man who threw himself whole-heartedly into whatever he did, and this was certainly true in his work life. He started his 50-year career in the newspaper business at age 9, selling newspapers on a Wallingford street corner until he was old enough to have a paper route... and then two paper routes. As an adult, he became a district manager and then branch manager in the circulation department at the Seattle Post Intelligencer. Later, at the Seattle Times he directed the shift from an afternoon circulation to a morning run.
At 60 he retired from the Times and started his own business selling British tokens. He used his knack for storytelling to give his customers historical context about how the tokens were used before there was a national British currency. He trekked to England every fall to attend conferences and give talks.
To say Bill loved automobiles is to underestimate the lifelong connection he had with them. Over the years, he drove an ever-changing variety of vintage cars, including—but not limited to—Kaisers, Studebakers, Willys, Buicks, Corvairs and even London Taxis. He was a member of several car clubs and enjoyed attending many local and national car meets.
Bill was a kind and loving person who was generous with his time and could always make you smile with a bad pun or silly joke. He is dearly missed by his wife June; daughters Kelly and Kristen; and grandchildren Winter, Oskar and William Alexander.
To read the complete article, see:
William Jon McKivor (Bill)
(https://obituaries.pellachronicle.com/obituary/william-mckivor-1082053829)
Eric Holcomb penned this remembrance for the website of the Conder Token Collector's Club.
-Editor
It is with great sadness that the CTCC reports the passing away of William Jon (Bill) McKivor.
According to his wife June, "Bill passed away peacefully at home earlier this week [in March 2021] after a long illness. He would want you to know how much he enjoyed and cherished your friendship as well as the friendship and camaraderie of other members in your club."
Bill served the Pacific Northwest Numismatic Association (PNNA) in several capacities, including board member and election chairman, and was a regular PNNA dealer. He received the prestigious Bob Everett Memorial Award in 2014.
He was born in 1940, the same year the PNNA was founded.
In his business, The Copper Corner, he specialized in British tokens and medals (including especially Conder tokens) and American colonial coinage. He produced 100 fixed price lists over a 25-year period up to his retirement in 2020.
He was founding member #3 of the Conder Token Collector's Club. He travelled to the UK Token Congress many times, and convinced a number of his British friends to attend a memorable British-American Token Congress in Seattle in May 2009.
He was an ANA member, and had a dealer table at multiple ANA conventions, including San Francisco in 2005.
He was also a friend of the Boeing Employees Coin Club and its members, participating as a dealer in the BECC coin show for many years. His interest in Boeing dated back to his work in the newspaper business prior to his first retirement in 2000.
He was an active member of the Seattle Numismatic Society, frequently sharing items pertaining to the monthly display topic.
Perhaps most of all, he was a great friend, a great source of numismatic knowledge, and always fun to visit with.
As some of you know, he was also a "car guy," owning over 200 cars in his lifetime, but that's another story!
Bill was one of those persons who truly exemplified the fellowship aspect of numismatics. I was his friend since meeting him at the Seattle Numismatic Society (then the Seattle Coin Club) in the 1990s, and visited his house many times, helping to photograph his tokens and medals, build his website, and make his computer work if needed! He always had a great story, including about Conder tokens and how he purchased his Boulton and Watt medals, but also about his cars, his days in the newspaper business and more. He remembered seeing the Seattle Space Needle built for the 1962 World's Fair. He was fun to visit at home, fun to attend club meetings and PNNA shows with, and anywhere else. Although I didn't visit him as often after moving to Oregon in 2008, I always looked forward to visiting for the annual PNNA conventions. Unfortunately I was unable to visit when the conventions were cancelled in 2020, and now he's gone. Very sad, but he will always be remembered and greatly missed.
To read the complete article, see:
Bill McKivor
(https://ctcc.info/welcome/bill-mckivor/)
Wayne Homren, Editor
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