Canadian Military Engineers Association

We regret to advise of the death of Firefighter Corporal William George "Bill" Collett (Ret’d),  peacefully at home on 22 July 2026, at the age of 82.

Bill served for five years as a Firefighter with the Royal Canadian Air Force before beginning a 25-year career with the Niagara Falls Fire Department. He rose through the ranks, starting out as a “probie” to become a Captain.

Cremation has taken place. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. Online condolences can be sent to the funeral home. In memory of Bill, donations to the Niagara Falls Professional Firefighters Association Local 528 or the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada would be appreciated by his family. Online condolences can be sent to the funeral home. 
 

We regret to advise of the death of Sergeant Frederick Wallace Jenkins Jr., CD (Ret’d), suddenly but peacefully on 19 July 2026, in Nova Scotia at Dartmouth General Hospital.

Fred proudly served his country in the Canadian Military Engineers for 35 years starting with his enlistment as a Sapper Apprentice with the 6th Intake in 1956. He was an Airborne Combat Engineer with a Heavy Equipment specialty who served most of his military career with 2 Combat Engineer Regiment in Petawawa ON but also served in  Chilliwack, Gagetown and Germany. He was honoured as the 1982/1983 Special Service Force Soldier of the Year.  Among his proudest accomplishments was operating heavy equipment during the construction of the Eagle River Bridge in the Yukon in 1977.

For his last posting, Fred served as a Roads and Grounds Supervisor at Canadian Forces Base Summerside PE. Following his retirement from the Canadian Forces in 1991, Fred settled in Lawrencetown NS.

Fred was a founding member of the Old Sappers Coffee Group, where lifelong friendships continued to grow over Thursday morning coffee.

A funeral service will be held on  28 July 2028 at 2:00 pm at St. Luke’s Anglican Church, 9 Veteran’s Ave, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, with a reception following. Online condolences can be sent to the funeral home.

We regret to advise of the death of Captain Ottmar George Kiltz, CD (Ret’d)  on 18 July 2026 in Kelowna, BC.  Ottmar served with the Canadian Military Engineers for 33 years and was the Canadian Military Engineer Chief Warrant Officer (1983- 85).

Ottmar was born in Stari-Vrbas, Yugoslavia (now Serbia), and immigrated to Canada in 1954. He enrolled as a Sapper in the Canadian Army in 1956 and completed his field engineer training at the Royal Canadian School of Military Engineering at Camp Chilliwack, BC. Upon graduation, he joined the staff of RCSME, where he served with the Military Engineering Squadron Demonstration Troop.

Ottmar was posted to 3 Field Squadron in Chilliwack in 1958. Promoted to Corporal in 1961, he returned to RCSME as an instructor in Recruit Squadron. He was next posted to 4 Field Squadron in Werl, Germany and remained with the squadron when it relocated to Lahr in 1970. In 1971, he was promoted to Warrant Officer and posted to 5e Escadron du Génie de Campagne in Valcartier, QC for a three-year tour before he returned to 4 Field Squadron in Lahr in 1974 as the Squadron Sergeant Major.

Promoted to Chief Warrant Officer in 1976, Ottmar returned to Canada the following year to serve at National Defence Headquarters in the Life-Cycle Management Section, where he was responsible for field engineer equipment. In 1980, he was appointed Base Chief Warrant Officer at Canadian Forces Base Chilliwack and served in that role for three years.

CWO Kiltz returned to National Defence Headquarters in 1983, where he became the third Canadian Military Engineering Branch Chief Warrant Officer. He was commissioned to Captain in 1987 upon completion of this appointment and posted to Vancouver as a member of the Pacific Region Regular Support Staff. 

Ottmar retired from the Canadian Armed Forces in 1990 and built their retirement house in Kelowna, BC. Ottmar was very active in retirement, serving as president of the Kelowna Garden Club for ten years, volunteering with the RCMP for many years and later with the Kelowna General Hospital.

Funeral arrangements were private. Ottmar was buried at the Kelowna Memorial Park Cemetery on 23 July 2026.