In Memoriam

Katie died Dec. 3 in Quesnel, B.C., where she lived for the last few years to be near family. She was predeceased by her husband, John Stewart, daughter Christine Stewart, BA’73, and granddaughter Katharine Hay. She is survived by her daughters Meg Stewart and Jennifer Hay and grandson David Hay. Katie had many fond memories of her days at Queen’s with her friends, the “Happy 12.” Their friendships were forged when they resided in close quarters in the “Barracks,” and continued lifelong. Katie moved to Nelson, B.C., in 1974 where she lived for more than 40 years, enjoying time with friends and family, travels, mountains, music, weaving, Scottish country dancing, and many other pursuits.

Alan died peacefully on Nov. 3, aged 88. Predeceased by his wife, Betty Ann, in 2002, Alan is survived by daughters Lesley, Artsci’84 (Tom) and Janet (Derek); grandchildren David, Sc’12 (Katherine), Katherine (Dan), Michael, Charlotte, and Isabella; and two great-grandchildren. Alan’s career as a civil engineer took the family to Toronto, Sudbury, and Sarnia. Alan’s first major project was building the Don Valley Parkway and he retired as city engineer in Sarnia. Al enjoyed curling, skiing, Toastmasters, and became a tai chi instructor later in life. He was a supporter of community organizations and generously established a planned gift to benefit the Queen’s University General Endowment Fund.

Don died Nov. 20 at the age of 91. Don’s PhD research explored the general subject of instability in active circuits using the newly introduced transistor as a practical application. This groundbreaking work led to his writing a major chapter for the Handbook of Semiconductor Electronics. Don joined the design team for Canada’s first space satellite, Alouette 1, which proved to be the most complex and reliable satellite of its time. While managing an engineering research group at the Defence Research Telecommunications Establishment in the 1960s, Don was an adjunct lecturer at Carleton University, where he helped develop its graduate electrical engineering program. On his appointment in 1968 to lead a new Canadian radar research program, Don initiated the original Canadian engineering studies of synthetic aperture imaging radar. Funded by the Department of National Defence and partnering with the Department of Energy, Mines, and Resources and with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratories, Don’s group produced a ground-based image processor for NASA’s Seasat satellite which, when it was launched in 1978, carried the first space-borne synthetic aperture imaging radar. This Canadian image processor provided such excellent earth and ocean images that the U.S. military immediately classified the Seasat project. This exclusion from Seasat led to Don’s group transferring its technology to Canadian industry partner MacDonald Detwiler Associates, which resulted in Canada’s successful program of satellite-borne imaging radar now known as Radarsat. 

Chris died peacefully at home in Washington, D.C., surrounded by family, friends, and dedicated caregivers after a spirited battle with Alzheimer’s. Chris began his life as he lived it … full speed. He spent the first four years of his life escaping Nazi-controlled Europe, eventually ending up in Ottawa. A natural athlete and bon vivant, he excelled in football, skiing, and boxing at Ashbury College. Chris later attended Queen’s, Carleton, and HEC Paris, where he continued his “extracurriculars” with passion. After 15 years at Wood Gundy in Toronto and London, Chris founded InterSec Research Corporation and never looked back. He took as much pride in the success of that venture as he did in the annual get-togethers of loyal employees decades after the firm was sold. Chris shaped the lives of many. Stories of his generosity, love, misdeeds, and escapades will be repeated for years to come.

Jon died Dec. 13, aged 52. Jon is survived by his mother, siblings, extended family, and many friends. He was predeceased by his father and his aunt Betty Mulville, BA’68. Jon graduated from Queen’s with a degree in mathematical and mechanical engineering; he was on the Dean’s List. In 1993, Jon left Ontario for B.C. to go skiing for a year. He fell in love with the mountains and decided to make B.C. his permanent home. He loved curling, mountain biking, golfing, skiing, and kayaking. He made a living as a carpenter, mostly in Whistler, and subsequently bought a home in Squamish. Jon excelled in every endeavour of his life but had to overcome several health issues, including a recent eight-week bout with COVID-19. Sadly, Jon struggled within himself and as he lived on his own terms, he also died on those terms. During the late evening of Dec. 13, Jon decided to take his own life, leaving his friends and family devastated. 

Jim died Oct. 28 in Thunder Bay, surrounded by his family. Jim met the love of his life, Cindy Warwick, NSc’85, in first year at Queen’s, in residence at Jean Royce Hall. They married in Thunder Bay in 1985 shortly after graduation. Jim worked first in mineral exploration and then in consulting engineering, assessing and remediating contaminated sites and assessing groundwater resources. He also served as manager of environment and community affairs for Fortune Minerals for projects in northern British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. A significant portion of this work involved consultations with First Nations. Jim learned a lot from the people he met in the First Nations with whom he consulted. One of his proudest moments was when Miluulak, a Sim’oogit (house chief) of the Gitxsan Nation in northwestern B.C. honorarily adopted him into the house. Jim benefited from mentoring by many experienced professionals and, in turn, he mentored those who worked for and with him. Jim loved travelling and discovering new places and people. Jim was a member of the Rotary Club of Thunder Bay (Port Arthur) where he ran the youth exchange program for several years; his family hosted several youth exchange students from around the world. Jim is survived by Cindy, his loving and patient wife of 34 years; his two accomplished children, Gillian and Isaac; his mother, Ines; siblings Nancy, Artsci’86 (Shane Dunne), Peter, Sc’86 (Judy Morash, NSc’87) and Laura, Artsci’93 (Tony Calverley); and extended family. He was predeceased by his father, Dr. James Mucklow, in 2019. Jim is also survived by his surrogate children, the 10 exchange students that the family hosted and continue to keep in contact with. Jim had numerous close friends and their families that he also considered family. Jim led a good and principled life driven by strong morals and the drive to do the right thing.