TUSTIN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2008-03-15 published
CAMPBELL,
Ronald McLachlan
Ron's last flight left Victoria at 2220 Thursday, March 13, 2008.
The first child of "Sandy" Alexander McLachlan and "Lil" Christian
CAMPBELL,
Ron was born in Calgary, Alberta on May 29th, 1915.
Due to the demands of the First World War, Sandy registered his
elder son's birth as the 30th of May - perhaps that explains
why Ron was usually early and never late.
Ron was predeceased by his beloved "Pudding", his adored wife
of over 60 years, Phyllis Sara
CAMPBELL in 2006. His brother
Ken and sister Betty also predeceased him. His passing leaves
a deep hole in the lives of his children of the heart, Hilarie
McMURRAY and her partner Jack
LITWINOWICH of Victoria and Steveston,
British Columbia, Bill
McMURRAY, his wife Mary and their children
Scott and Elspeth of Senneville Quebec. His nieces of the heart
Joanne TUSTIN of Victoria and Debbie
TUSTIN of Duncan grieve
the loss of their Uncle Ron. Also left to mourn are his baby
sister Margaret
STEVENSON of San Diego, California, his sister-in-law
Helen CAMPBELL of Victoria, his cousin Bea
WARD of Sidney, his
brother-in-law Alan
KIMBER and his wife
Roberta of Lethbridge,
Alberta and Ron's special Friends Bruce and Carol Gowans of Calgary,
Alberta and long time friend George McMurray of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Ron leaves many Campbell and Kimber nieces and nephews and grand
nieces and nephews across Canada and the United States.
Ron was a pioneer of Canadian aviation, graduating in 1933 from
the first Aircraft Maintenance course at the then Provincial
Institute of Technology and Art in Calgary (now SAIT). He
and his friend Sheldon Luck made the first night flight over
the Rockies in 1935 from Williams Lake to Calgary - Ron struck
and held the long Eddy matches so Sheldon the pilot could see
the compass in their single engine Puss Moth. Ron went on to
a stellar career with Trans Canada Airlines and Air Canada. After
Ron won the heart of the prettiest load agent in Canada, Phyllis
KIMBER, they were married in Montreal in January 1946. Ron and
Phyllis had a wonderful life together in Montreal and Toronto
and Victoria - it was in Toronto in the 1950s that they first
spoiled Hilarie and Bill
McMURRAY which began a lifetime of unconditional
love and support. After leading the team to introduce the 747 to
the Air Canada fleet, Ron retired from Air Canada in 1975. That
same year Phyllis and Ron drove across the country to their new
home in Broadmead. Together, they travelled the world, visiting
the then Soviet Union in the 1970s and taking two trips to China
in the 1980s.
Ron was an old fashioned gentleman, always impeccably dressed
and unfailingly polite - we will hold in our hearts and our memories
the image of Ron's beautiful smile and his tip of the hat.
The family would like to thank the incredible staff of RP1 at
the Royal Jubilee Hospital for their loving care over the last
5 weeks. For the past year Ron enjoyed his life at The Peninsula
in Sidney, British Columbia - his caregivers were wonderful,
in particular Ian. Thank you. And a special thanks to Chris Chilton
and Anne Moon for being such good Friends to Ron.
There will be no service at Ron's request. Later this year, Ron
and Phyllis will be buried together in the Kimber family plot
in Lethbridge, Alberta. If you wish, the family would appreciate
memorial donations to the Salvation Army or to The Mustard Seed
Food Bank.
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