Ian Michael Gordon

August 21, 1942 - March 27, 2013

With sadness in our hearts, the family of Ian Michael Gordon announces his sudden passing on Wednesday, March 27, 2013 while on vacation in Hawaii at the age of 70 years. Ian leaves behind in mourning his loving wife of nearly 49 years, Cathy (nee Burns); his daughter and son in law Deb and Phil LeLievre; his son and daughter in law Glen and Laura Gordon and his grandchildren Erin and Jake Gordon and Evan LeLievre as well as family and friends the world over. Ian was born in Cranbrook, BC to James and Ann Gordon. Along with his four brothers (Dennis, Jack, Alan, Jim) and two sisters (Noreen, Mary), Ian was raised in a loving family filled with faith, fun and an appreciation of the great outdoors. From an early age, fishing, hunting, and hockey were passions Ian both excelled at and enjoyed his entire life. Like his dad and all his siblings, Ian was a prolific story teller with a memory for events and detail that made his stories, while sometimes long, never dull. Edgar Allan Poe said, “To observe attentively is to remember distinctly”. That was Ian. Ian’s plans for a career in forestry changed quickly when on a chance trip to Calgary in 1961, he found himself enrolling in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Ian earned his pilot’s wings in 1969 and began an incredible career journey that would take him around the world several times. He flew into nearly every continent in the world and loved every country and learning about their culture and people. His biggest beef with the Cold War was that it prevented him from going into and meeting the people in the eastern block countries. His slide shows after his trips were epic. If you paid attention, you’d learn far more watching and listening to his stories than you ever could in a history, geography, or political science class. Flying Queen Elizabeth II in 1977 was an especially poignant trip. After more than 28 years in the RCAF (Ian was never a huge fan of unification and the term Canadian Armed Forces), he moved on to fly commercial charters and soon after landed his second career as an Aviation Instructor at Selkirk College in Castlegar, BC. He had perhaps his biggest career impact during those 12 years sharing his excellence and passion for flying with so many young pilots. Ian loved and respected his students and the feeling was mutual. After retirement in 2002, Ian and Cathy moved to Airdrie to enjoy life near their children. Ian’s last decade on earth was spent doing the things he loved most including continuing to follow and assess world events, relaxing with his family, travelling, fly fishing with the best of the best, and doting on his three, in his words, ‘incredible” grandchildren. He was a lucky man. He was a wonderful man. Clear skies and smooth flying Ian. You will be missed. A Celebration of Ian’s Life will be held at FOSTER’S GARDEN CHAPEL, 3220 – 4 Street N.W., Calgary (across from Queen’s Park Cemetery) on Saturday, April 6, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. Expressions of sympathy may be forwarded to the family via the website www.fostersgardenchapel.ca. If friends and family so desire, a donation may be made directly to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, 200, 119-14 Street, N.W., Calgary AB T2N 1Z6.

FOSTER'S GARDEN CHAPEL

FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATORIUM

Telephone: 403-297-0888

Honoured Provider of Dignity Memorial