Martyn Joseph Ernest Callow was born on August 17, 1929, in Naini Tal, India, a British Colonial hill station in the Himalayas. His father, Joseph Ernest Callow, was an Assistant Superintendent in the Civil Secretariat of India, and Martyn spent the first 17 years of his life in Lucknow, India. Described by the Principal of La Martinière College, Lucknow, as "a keen, intelligent, hard-working lad, suitable for the training he desires as an aeronautical engineer", Martyn completed his engineer apprenticeship at DeHavilland Aircraft Ltd. in the UK, and was hired in their fledging Rocket Division, producing original designs for liquid rocket engine fuel systems. After reading a recruiting advertisement by Orenda Engines in Canada, Martyn emigrated to create the developmental design for the Iroquois engine anti-icing system. He was then hired by Avro Arrow as a Systems Engineer, where he produced the design proposal for the Avro Arrow fuel system. After Avro Arrow was shelved by the Federal Government in 1959, Martyn was recruited by NASA for rocket engine design during the McCarthy era. However, he had fallen in love with Inge Hubner, a soft-spoken, blond East German woman. Martyn was given a choice by NASA: find a new fiancé or forfeit the job offer. Love was stronger than McCarthy. Martyn and Inge were married on October 21, 1960. He was quickly hired by De Havilland Aircraft, Canada, in 1960 to lead the engine design for the Hydrofoil project. He then joined Defence Research Establishment Atlantic to supervise the Hydrofoil Test Facility as well as work in anti-submarine warfare design, ending his extraordinary career there. He had a love for elegant machinery, from fast motorcycles that he drove in the English fog as a young man, to sleek cars into which he crammed his wife, three children and the family dog, to a high-fidelity audio system with a collection of several thousand vinyl LPs. Every night, the family home was filled with classic jazz or symphonic music, for which his children Marlis, Stephen and Pamela are grateful. Martyn developed a passion for sailing, teaching his family to sail. Many summer vacations were enjoyed on family cruises around the Maritimes, and he also skippered the family-crewed yacht to numerous local racing championships. The summers spent on the ocean are treasured family memories. And if it hadn't been for his love of sailing, neither of his daughters would have met their spouses. He built one of the first home computers in Halifax, which led his son Stephen to launch his own computer business. Martyn also had a love for dogs - and they loved him-ever since his sister Pamela adopted strays in India. After the death of Inge, his beloved wife of 28 years, Martyn visited his daughter Marlis and her family in Vancouver numerous times, and also travelled to Thailand, Singapore, China and India. Until his death, he was an integral part of the lives of his daughter Pamela and her family in Halifax. He was a deeply loved father and grandfather, and will be greatly missed for his wit, graciousness, and love. Martyn was predeceased by his mother, Claude Cotton Callow; father, Joseph Ernest Callow; sister, Cynthia Callow; sister, Pamela Callow Olton, and his wife, Inge Luzie Callow (1989). He is survived by his children: Marlis (Calum) MacAulay, Stephen Callow, and Pamela (Daniel Carver) Callow; his grandchildren, Kelsey and Gavin MacAulay, Vancouver, and Julia and Katrina Carver, Halifax; and step-sister, Roma Georgette, United Kingdom. The family is grateful for the love and care from the staff at Maplestone Enhanced Care that was given to Martyn during his eight years of living there. They demonstrated on a daily basis their affection for him. Martyn died peacefully in Maplestone Enhanced Care, Halifax, on April 15, 2019, with family at his side, and the dulcet voice of Ella Fitzgerald, his favourite chanteuse, playing softly in his room. A Celebration of Martyn's Life will be held on July 2nd, from 6-8 p.m. in J. A. Snow Funeral Home, 339 Lacewood Dr., Halifax. Cremation has taken place. Online condolences may be left at: www.dignitymemorial.com In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Nova Scotia SPCA or the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
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