“Bunker” (Hilliard William Crawford) passed away suddenly at his home in Ancaster, Ontario, on April 29, 2026, following a heart attack. He was 81.
Born on September 25, 1944, in Toronto, Ontario, Hilliard became “Bunker” almost immediately. As the story goes, the nurse present at his birth was from Boston and, seeing that he was Hilliard, son of Hilliard, called him “Little Bunker Hill.” The name stayed with him for the rest of his life, and to many of the people who knew and loved him, he was simply Bunker.
Bunker grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, with his parents and his sister, Barbara Anne. From an early age, he stood out both academically and athletically. He excelled as a swimmer, skipped grades, and left for university at a remarkably young age. He attended the Royal Military College of Canada, where he studied chemical engineering, though his independent streak may have made him better suited to entrepreneurship than military life. He received an honourable discharge in order to return home and help care for his ailing father and support the family business, running a marina in North Bay, Ontario.
His career reflected the same mix of intelligence, ambition, curiosity, and independence that marked the rest of his life. He began his professional career with DuPont, making dynamite, and went on to work across chemical engineering, sales, and entrepreneurship. Some ventures succeeded and others did not, but Bunker was always learning, always moving, and always looking for the next idea. One such effort was a new and improved brake pad, a product he believed in deeply even if the market was not ready to move away from entrenched industry practices. Another was Greenback, a paper and cardboard recycling company that also created meaningful work opportunities for people with developmental disabilities, helping them build confidence and independence through employment.
In the later and most successful chapter of his career, Bunker joined Kontek, a wastewater treatment company in Burlington, Ontario, where he became head of sales. He travelled widely, selling large wastewater treatment systems for uses ranging from mines in Mexico to mints in the Middle East. He enjoyed the independence, complexity, and international scope of the work, and helped grow Kontek from its startup roots into a thriving company.
Bunker married early in life and later moved on from his first marriage. He met Paula in Toronto in the early 1980s, and together they had three children: Tad, Sloan, and Lachlan “Lucky.” Fatherhood was, in his own eyes, the most important role of his life. He took enormous pride in his children and in trying to give them every opportunity he could. He was deeply involved in their sports, schools, and activities, running the treasury department for the youth football organization, leading fundraising efforts for the gymnastics club, organizing trips for the cheerleading team, and serving on boards and committees wherever he thought he could help.
He cared deeply about his children’s futures and was intensely invested in their lives and accomplishments. He never missed a home or away football game during Tad’s football career, and he travelled just as devotedly for Sloan’s gymnastics events and Lachlan’s activities. He was immensely proud that Tad attended Columbia, Sloan attended William & Mary, and Lachlan attended McGill, accomplishments he saw not only as theirs, but as part of the purpose and meaning of his own life.
As his children grew into adulthood and built lives of their own, Bunker remained proud of them and interested in the paths they were taking. He visited Tad in Vancouver, Montreal, and Boston, and he continued to follow the lives and accomplishments of all three of his children with deep pride. He loved them dearly and took great pride in the adults they became.
Bunker was also a man of deep and lasting friendships. Some of his most formative years were in Montreal in the 1960s, where a group of about a dozen young men celebrated Expo 67 in grand style, made the Cock and Bull their neighbourhood pub, spent nights on stage with the band at Your Father’s Moustache, skied most weekends in the Eastern Townships and Vermont, and formed the friendships that became the River Devils. Over the decades, the River Devils went on to share canoe trips, whitewater paddling, and adventures across Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Most remained friends for nearly sixty years.
They loved Bunker for his love of life, his energy, his care for others, and the simple pleasure he took in being with his friends. On canoe trips, cold, wet, and bad camp food never seemed to bother him much; he was just happy to be out there with them. The strength of those friendships showed itself not only in adventure, but in loyalty. His friends believed in him, stood behind his ambitions, and remained with him through the ventures and turns that marked a life spent trying to build something new.
He was outgoing, social, smart, and full of appetite for the world. He loved to read, to travel, to go out for a good meal, to laugh, to celebrate, and to enjoy a good bottle of wine, particularly a nice Italian Barolo. He appreciated the finer things in life, but more than that, he appreciated the experience of sharing them with others. He was happiest in good company, with a story being told, a glass being poured, and the next conversation already underway.
In the early 2000s, Bunker met his partner, Lona Burgess. They began sharing their life together in Ancaster in approximately 2007, and their home remained his home until his death. In his later years, he also found great companionship in his beloved dog, Eimear, his best friend and partner in crime.
Bunker is survived by his children, Tad Crawford, Sloan Crawford, and Lachlan Crawford; his daughter-in-law, Stephanie Crawford; his grandchildren, Sinclair Crawford and Berkley Crawford; his partner, Lona Burgess; and his sister, Barbara Anne of Smiths Falls, Ontario. He was delighted to become a grandfather and took great pride in seeing the next generation of his family begin.
Cremation will take place, and details for a celebration of Bunker’s life will be shared with family and friends.
Bunker leaves behind stories, friendships, and a family he loved. Those who knew him are invited to remember him in the way he would have appreciated: by raising a glass of Barolo, sharing a good story, and celebrating a life lived with intelligence, independence, humour, and heart.