Willard Kinzie

Willard L. Kinzie (9 September 1919 – 25 November 2018) was a businessman and former mayor of Barrie, Ontario.^[1] After serving as an Alderman, Willard was elected as mayor of the then town and served at the time that it reincorporated as a city. He played a central role in many of the issues affecting Barrie, such as various annexation reviews and the development of the waterfront. As a businessman, he ran a successful milk delivery business earning him the nickname 'The Milk Man'.

Willard L. Kinzie
36th Mayor of Barrie
In office 1957–1961
Preceded by	R. Eldon Greer
Succeeded by	Lester Cooke
Barrie Town Council Alderman
In office 1952–1953
Personal details
Born	(1919-09-19)19 September 1919
Died	25 November 2018(2018-11-25) (aged 99) Barrie, Ontario
Spouses	Ruth Kinzie (died 2011) Karen Hunter (m. 2016)
Children	3

Background

Kinzie was raised in a farm neighbourhood, between Cambridge, Ontario and Kitchener, Ontario, during the Great Depression. With a shortage of work, he went overseas to work for government from 1942 to 1945.^[2] He used his earnings to begin his dairy career, which his father and uncles were also in.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Kinzie married Ruth Snider in 1942. The couple remained together for 67 years until her death in 2011.^[3] In 2016, Kinzie announced his engagement to longtime friend and hiking companion Karen Hunter, and the couple married later that year.^[4]

Business career

In 1945 Kinzie purchased a small, one-route dairy in the Guelph area, which he sold in 1947. That same year he moved to Barrie and purchased Lakeview Dairy on Dunlop Street East which he continued to run until 1975.^[5]

Political career

Other major initiatives