Kenneth Daryl Dougan

Ken and his brother Rob were born on February 10, 1964 in Edinburgh, Scotland. They returned to Canada in April of that year with their mother Joyce and lived with her parents. Joyce’s father passed away later that same year and the boys settled in with their mother and grandmother, with their grandmother looking after them when their mother returned to work. Ken often shared fond memories of that time with his grandmother including the Norwegian comfort food she made and her love of coffee with lots of cream. The family lived in the east part of Edmonton, surrounded by their Joyce’s family (Broens, Smiths and Owens) including their 10 cousins. This was a very happy time for Ken and he often talked about his memories of the large family gatherings including a ski trip with his cousins. Joyce married William (Bill) Dougan when Ken and his brother were 11 years old and then at the end of grade 5, the family moved to an acreage southeast of Sherwood Park. Ken often talked about their pets from this time period - including Duke, their dog, and their horses.

He took mechanical engineering with a minor in software development at the University of Alberta. He often shared memories and painting tips gained from his student job working with his brother painting houses through the summer in Edmonton.

His first job was with Atomic Energy Canada, working at the Whiteshell facility near Winnipeg, and he later moved to Deep River, Ontario to work at the Chalk River Nuclear Facility. This was a career high for Ken given his interest in engineering, software development and science fiction. The Chalk River facility is one of the most complex laboratories in Canada, with activities ranging from services and development related to the nuclear industry, to other science areas such as physics, metallurgy, chemistry, biology, and engineering. While working there, he was sponsored to complete his Masters of Engineering at the University of Manitoba.

Ken returned to Alberta via motorcycle in 1997, settling in Calgary to be close to his family and the mountains. After a short stint living with his brother, he bought his first house on 11th Ave in Kensington, where he took up gardening, filling his backyard with perennials to create an English-style garden. It was also at this time that he was able to really lean into his love of train modeling, building out a complex N-Scale train layout modeling every nuance of the CN route from Edmonton to Jasper. He meticulously planned and built the model which took the entire basement, laying tracks, building scenery and wiring the entire layout to enable remote control.

He married Christine Vandaele in May of 2007 and they welcomed their first daughter Elisabeth in Aug of 2008. Kate followed in 2010, a Halloween baby. A few highlights from this time were trips to Hawaii and Mexico as a family, including one with Christine’s extended family. The girls in particular have fond memories of family game night, secret ice cream sundaes with dad, face painting and the New Year's Eve fondue tradition.

Ken is survived by his daughters Elisabeth and Kate Dougan, their mother, Christine, as well as his brother Robert Dougan. He is predeceased by his mother Joyce Dougan and father William Dougan.

A Memorial Service will be held at Hillhurst United Church, 1227 Kensington Close NW in Calgary on Tuesday, May 24, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. lead by the Reverend John Pentland.

If friends so desire, memorial donations may be made to organizations focused on providing mental health support and addiction counseling services to families.