Canada has lost an icon.
Wiarton Willie, the albino groundhog who made his presence felt every February 2, when he delivered his Groundhog Day prediction about when spring would arrive, passed away peacefully last weekend at his home in Wiarton, Ontario.
The announcement was made Tuesday by Janice Jackson, the mayor of the amalgamated Town of South Bruce Peninsula, of which Wiarton is a part.
He was 13.
A funeral and procession will be held in his honour a week from Saturday in Wiarton’s Bluewater Park.
Willie’s passing comes just over a month after the death at 90 of Mac McKenzie, who founded the Wiarton Willie Festival in 1956.
The original Willie joined the festivities about a decade later and lived to the age of 22. He was found dead only two days before Groundhog Day in 1999.
Legend holds that when a groundhog sees his shadow on Feb. 2, winter will last another six weeks.
Seeing no shadow is said to be harbinger of an early spring.
Willie saw no shadow this year–and perhaps because he was aging–missed the correct call as winter lasted well into March in much of Canada.
News of Willie’s death prompted a tweet from Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynn.
“We had a tumultuous relationship–he was vocal when I missed his big day. He sometimes delivered good news. Rest in peace Wiarton Willie,” she wrote.
Willie will be replaced on Groundhog Day 2018, by his designated successor, Wee Willie.
I spoke by phone Thursday with Mayor Jackson about Willie’s life and legacy.
ListenWith files from CBC, CTV, Canadian Press, Postmedia Network
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