Reginald George Cameron Kearns

It is with profound sadness that we, Reg’s sisters, announce the sudden and unexpected death of our much loved brother, Reginald George Cameron KEARNS. He passed away in his sleep on Saturday, January 29, 2022 at the age of 80 years. Reg was born April 17, 1941, the first child of R.Q.S.M. Percy George KEARNS and Evelyn Fanny Cameron KEARNS (nee HANCOCK), while Percy was stationed in England during World War II. Reg was not to meet his father until he was four years old, so his earliest years were spent with his mother and her parents, Reginald and Marion Hancock, in the upper floor of a house on 5th Avenue & 6th Street SW, Calgary.

Reg was predeceased by both his parents, both sets of grandparents and all his aunts and uncles. He is survived by two sisters, Mary E. Trace (Francis) and Sheila F. Kearns (Steve Berini), all of Calgary; special cousin Pauline Ashley and her daughters (Calgary); Daniel Simons (London, England) and numerous second cousins. Reg is also survived by a huge circle of very special friends including Thom Cholowski (Laura) of Saskatoon; Rebecca and Eric Bouwsema of Cochrane; Jim Springer (Liz) of Calgary; Pete and Susan Peters of Whidbey Island, Washington State; Diane Vallee of Longview; Sherry Jurykovsky (Ron) of Calgary; Phil Zelenka (Janet Trace) of Cochrane, and many more - too numerous to mention.

Anyone who knew Reg knew his passion for trains, especially steam. That all started as a child because our father worked for Canadian Pacific Railways, Hotel Division. At that time all employees of CPR were entitled to a free family rail trip each year, and that’s how he got introduced to trains. Reg fell in love with the railroad and that was that. It lasted his whole life. And on those family trips our poor mother was always looking for Reg - because he’d be all over the train looking at everything, and she’d have to go find him.

Reg attended Queen Elizabeth School in Calgary from Grade 1 right through to graduating Grade 12 in the “new” building. Reg had originally wanted to join the Navy, but unfortunately, at the age of 15 he had tragically lost his right eye to a BB gun accident, and when he checked with the Navy, was told that he didn’t qualify because of the lost eye. He then decided on pursuing a career as a Railroad Engineer, but sadly was turned down again for the same reason.

So, after high school Reg took another career path and attended the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. He started an electrical apprenticeship and graduated four years later as a Journeyman Electrician. This would be in the mid 60’s.

Reg met Sally Andrew in Victoria, BC one day while visiting his aunt and uncle. He would travel to Victoria a lot after that, leading to their wedding there in 1967. They lived and worked in Calgary until the mid 80’s then moved to Vancouver Island where Reg continued his other hobby, photography, and where he learned to sail – fulfilling to some degree his original interest in the Navy. They bought a sailboat which they enjoyed tremendously. When their relationship ended Reg returned to Calgary. The family still remains close to Sally.

After graduating SAIT, Reg put his new trade to work in construction in Calgary for a number of years before joining Esteron Industries as the Shop Manager. Here he would meet a number of fellows who would become his lifelong friends including Jim Molle, Jim Springer, Al Heron, Pete Peters and Don Petro. Reg gained an incredible amount of knowledge at Esteron and when they closed the business he and Jim Springer got positions with the Calgary Stampede.

We are grateful to a co-worker at the Stampede, Mike Delaney, who talked to someone who was there when Reg started. This contact provided an insight into the kind of work Reg did at the Stampede: “Reg oversaw the purchase and installation of the milling machine and the metal lathe into the back room in the shop we were in, when we moved into the Agriculture Building. He worked in the capacity of a machinist, machining parts for various pieces of equipment, like the street sweepers and insulators for the Hollywood lights in the grandstand. He also worked as a technician re-coning speakers and performing installations like the clubhouse speakers in the Chinook Terrace and the north reserved seating, some of which are still in use to this day”.

Reg left the Stampede in 1982 to go work for Heritage Park and his years there were very special to him. His title became Mechanical Maintenance Supervisor & Rail Car Restoration Specialist. His love of trains, especially C.P.R. steam trains, was something he cared for deeply since his childhood.

While at Heritage Park, Reg took on the project of restoring a 1907 touring car, C.P.R. Suburban Coach No. 141. The car was in bad shape inside and out, and it was a huge undertaking. He had a carpenter to assist him named Ernie Fjellstad. Together, after many frustrations and a lot of historical research and hard work, they completed a very extensive, meticulous and historically accurate restoration that took at least three years. It is the only original, surviving varnished mahogany car left in North America. And, although there were frustrating moments, there was also a great deal of pride when it was completed.

Reg earned the well-deserved recognition of his accomplishment from the people that counted, like Omer Lavalee - C.P.R. Archivist, the Canadian Railway Historical Association, Jim Shields, Doug Phillips, Al Broadfoot, the Alberta Model Engineering Society, and many other people associated with the train world. Car 141 won the 1989 Canadian Railway Historical Association award for “Best Preservation”.

Reg’s departure date from Heritage Park is believed to have been the spring of 1991 as his last restoration project was a CPR Caboose that year. But he wasn’t quite done with the Park because in the early 2000’s he returned again, this time as a Restoration Consultant on the restoration of the Morrissey cars. So, if you happen to find yourself in Heritage Park, be sure to check out the Caboose, the Morrissey cars, and Reg’s pride and joy, Coach No. 141, and enjoy the workmanship and its history.

His great friend and fellow railroad enthusiast, Thom Cholowski, summed up the extent of Reg’s vast knowledge and contributions to railway history by saying, “Reg’s lifelong passion was for documenting and preserving Canadian railway history. He left a very extensive body of work which includes high end photography, sound recordings, books, reference materials, precision models and so much more that will be treasured by future generations of historians”.

Times were tough in the early 90's when it came to getting work. Reg landed a job with a knife sharpening company and over the next several years he learned another skill - knife and tool sharpening. He sharpened everything from butcher knives to “you name it”.

In 1996 he took a job as Assistant Curator at the Museum of the Highwood, working with his longtime friend, Diane Vallee, the Curator. The Museum is located in the old railroad station in High River, alongside the railroad tracks. Reg used to say he loved to hear the trains pass as he was working. While at the museum he catalogued all their artifacts and scanned their impressive collection of photographs. He enjoyed working there a great deal, even though he had to commute from Calgary.

Reg “retired” from the museum in 2007, but you couldn’t exactly call it retirement. Before we knew it he was doing some part time work for Solar Robotics in Calgary. What started out as a few hours here and there became about four days a week, for several years. While at Solar Robotics he met Eric and Rebecca Bouwsema who became, and remained, his close personal friends.

After finally retiring, Reg spent his time drafting blueprints for his model engineering projects. Did we mention he had always been involved with model railroading? He was never idle and it almost always involved trains, be it building models, scanning a massive train photo collection for a friend, or editing train photos for other people needing help.

He was a founding member of the Alberta Model Engineering Society for many years and was one of the founding members that built the Iron Horse Park near Airdrie.

Reg was a people person. His circle of friends was huge and he stayed in touch with all of them. He was always checking to see what people were doing, if everyone was okay, seeing if they needed anything he could offer and, if necessary, he was the “big shoulder” for people to “cry” on if they needed that kind of help. All this gave him joy. Having that contact sustained him through the latter part of his life when he was not able to travel around anymore. He felt deeply about those in his life, and the loss of any friend went deep.

And he was always close to his sisters. From childhood Reg was always there when we needed him. We laughed a lot at his crazy, often odd, humour, and he had such a great laugh and smile. Our lives are definitely emptier now that our big brother has left us, but, what wonderful memories we have of that incredible sense of humor and his kind, loving, caring nature, and what stories we can tell.

We would like to thank Dr. Eric Mortis who was not only his physician for many, many years, but also his close train buddy. When Eric retired he passed Reg’s care along to Dr. Dan Botha whom Reg also admired and respected greatly.

Reg’s wishes were to be cremated. He also requested his ashes be scattered and that will take place at a later date, at a place he chose.

Real passion is something special. To become passionate about something as a child and then be able to carry it with you all the rest of your days, is an amazing thing. Reg was a passionate person.

Rest in Peace, Dear Reg. You will be forever in our hearts.

In Lieu of Flowers please make a donation to a charity or organization that is your passion, whatever it may be, to pass along the kindness and caring Reg felt for his family and friends.