Mr. William "Les" Leslie Wardrop

Peacefully in the early morning of September 19, Les Wardrop passed away at his residence, 3 months shy of his 102 birthday. Les is survived by his sons Terry (Sheilagh), Jeff (Janice) and daughter Cindy (Larry) Malazdrewicz, eight grandchildren Jamie (Kari), Robbie, Brenna, Sean (Jeannie), Shannon (Darrell) Hunks, and Scott, Brad (Lauren) and Greg (Lori) Malazdrewicz and eleven great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife Olive (nee McLean) and his parents Mabel (nee Cousins) and David.

Being born and raised on the homestead farm in Whitemouth, Manitoba had an enormous impact on the type of life “Spud” would lead. His forefathers set a strong example of hard work for him to emulate ... and he did that in spades. That strong Scottish/Protestant work ethic shone through in everything he accomplished.

Dad received his bachelor degrees – both from the University of Manitoba – in Electrical Engineering in 1939 and in Civil Engineering in 1947 following his return from serving overseas with the Army Signals during the Second World War. In 1947, he started his career as a waterworks engineer with the City of Winnipeg Sewage and Waterworks department and in 1955, he founded W. L. Wardrop & Associates – one of the first Winnipeg-based engineering consulting firms – which later became Wardrop Engineering Inc. With an initial staff of four, the company offered services in public works engineering and housing subdivision servicing. The firm expanded its services to include pulp and paper, solar energy, and nuclear engineering and launched water projects in West Africa through its International Division. Dad retired from active participation in the Company in 1980 but continued to serve on its Board of Directors for many years. In January 2009, Tetra Tech acquired Wardrop, expanding the Tetra Tech team to more than 10,000 staff.

Throughout the years, Dad played a significant role in Canadian engineering activities and participated in numerous community undertakings. He was a past president of the Association of Professional Engineers of Manitoba (1959-1961), the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers (1961-1962), the Canadian Institute of Pollution Control (1960) and the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce (1970). He was also a past chairman of the Industrial Development Board of Greater Winnipeg (1969), the Salvation Army Advisory Board (1978) campaign chairman for two years and was a director of the Royal Canadian Mint and the Biomass Energy Institute. He was a member of the Board of Misericordia Hospital (1977-1983), member and chairman of the Manitoba Enterprise Development Board (1980-1985) and campaign chairman of the New Activity Centre, Middlechurch Home of Winnipeg (1980). He served as a principal organizer of the University of Manitoba homecoming events for his two graduation classes and was one of the first volunteers in 1998 to join the unofficial campaign for the new Engineering and Information Technology Centre.

In 1977, Dad received a Meritorious Service Award from the Association of Professional Engineers of Manitoba for his extraordinary engineering achievements and community involvement. In 1990, the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Engineering dedicated the "Les Wardrop Reading Room" at its library in his honour. In 2002, the Consulting Engineers of Manitoba paid tribute to him by naming him the first honorary presenter of its prestigious Keystone Award for consulting engineering excellence and awarding him the Lifetime Achievement Award 2002 in recognition of his leadership, achievements and contribution to consulting engineering and the community. The University of Manitoba presented him with an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science at their spring convocation in 2006 and this was one of his proudest moments.

Over the years, Dad was a builder, a carpenter and a golfer. In his early teens, he extended the box on the truck used to deliver bricks manufactured in his father’s Whitemouth Brickyard. He built a camper trailer painted to match the two-tone 55 Buick the family drove, a garage, two cabins and a boathouse at Moose Lake and a cabin cruiser in the garage on Old Mill Road. In 1964, Dad took over the homestead farm at Whitemouth and set up a cow-calf operation which required the construction of various cattle shelters, hay storage facilities, a machine shed and a house for the hired manager. In 1971, Mom and Dad purchased the McLean family farm at East Selkirk and proceeded to expand and renovate the old brick house and add storage buildings and landscaping. All these projects were done in his “spare time” and mainly by himself ... work was his hobby ... that left arm pounded thousands of nails.

In his retirement years, Dad continued to enjoy his golf at the St. Charles Golf and Country Club right up to his early 90’s and he spent 20 years researching, writing and publishing a Wardrop family history book which was distributed to many relatives.

We, his family, are very proud of our father’s contributions to society and the supportive role he played in our lives. We also wish to thank the staff at the Canoe Club who contributed to his comfort over the last several years and the many homecare workers and nurses who assisted him in recent months.

A service to celebrate Dad’s life will be held at 11:00 am September 30 at Thomson in the Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, 1291 McGillivray Blvd.

Flowers are gratefully declined. If you so wish, donations in Dad’s memory may be made to the Les Wardrop Bursary in Engineering at the University of Manitoba. Gifts may be made online at: umanitoba.ca/giving or sent to the following address: Alumni and Donor Relations, 200-137 Innovation Drive, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg MB R3T 6B6. Cheques made payable to the University of Manitoba.