Obituary for Ian Arnold McArthur
Ian Arnold McArthur: February 1, 1940 to January 3, 2021
After battling the cruel and irremediable Alzheimer’s for a number of years, our beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather passed away with his wife and son at his side at the age of 80. He was predeceased by his parents, Arnold Dezall (1975) and Ellie Ethel (1989). Ian leaves behind his loving wife of 45 years Donna of Carstairs, son Jim and his wife Cheryl of Calgary and their family – Amanda (husband Marc and son Lander), Christine, Russell of Calgary; his mother-in-law Marie Mason of Cochrane; his brothers-in-law Jim Chmilar (Margaret Letwin) of Grand Valley, and Bob Mason (Trudy) of St. Albert; three nephews – Brandon Chmilar (Meghann) and children Xavier, Samuel of Calgary, Brent Chmilar (Jen) and children Eli, Hana of Calgary, and Kiel Mason (Jenna) and son Arland of Revelstoke; three nieces – Angie Parsons (née Mason) (Erik) of Portland, Oregon, Burdine (née Chmilar) (Brian) Rex and children Evelyn, Laura, Charlotte of Calgary, and Alison Mason and children Linc, Maddy of Jasper.
Ian was born in Calgary in 1940 and spent his childhood in the Bowness and Sunnyside areas. After attending Crescent Heights High School, he completed a BEd in Industrial Arts from the University of Alberta. He taught at Victoria Composite High School, instilling a love of television arts and video technology in teens for many years. In I961, Ian and Tony Wood founded TEAM SUTUL for the purpose of building a Sports Racing Car and ran a team of three MG’s in many Alberta rallies. In I969, Mike Dean joined the team with two formidable Coopers and they began Auto Slalom, Ministock Racing and Rallying. He met Donna in 1972 at the Edmonton Light Sports Car Club and Donna joined the team. They married in 1975 and moved to 40 acres near Tofield in 1978, building a beautiful log house. They enjoyed one horsepower, showing and breeding Appaloosa horses and trail riding. Ian then furthered his education, attaining a PhD in Instructional Technology in 1991 with a GPA of 4.0. In 1987, they moved to the Grand Valley area near Cochrane, and Ian was recruited to the Canmore School Board as Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, and later by the Canadian Pacific Railway as Director of Training. After his retirement, they moved to a small acreage in Water Valley and then most recently to a home in Carstairs.
Ian was known as a ‘Trains, Planes and Automobile’ guy, big or small! His love of the railroad started as a child, riding the switching locomotives from Calgary to Field and back with Engineer Andy (his mother’s friend). He loved riding the trains, watching trains, talking about trains, and building and running model trains. Many hours of his youth were spent taking pictures of trains at the Alyth yards in Calgary, and he joined the train club in his teens. His first model train layout was in the basement of his family home, and became a standard in every house he owned, having the foresight to build it modular so it could be moved. He was an integral part of the Edmonton and Calgary Model Railroad Society for many years, including being on the CMRS Board of Directors a number of times. This love of trains is something he passed on to son Jim. In his later years, he enjoyed rail fan trips, historic train excursions, gardening, bird watching (absolutely loved the geese on the pond outside their home in Carstairs) and playing bocce. Ian and Donna made a bucket list and were able to complete the ‘toes in the ocean on both West Coast (Tofino, BC with dear friend Carol) and East Coast (Gros Morne, Nfld)’.
He will be missed by all whose lives he touched. Although a Celebration of Life is not possible at this time, condolences, stories and photos about memories with Ian can be added to his memory wall at www.choicememorial.com.
Tributes may be made in Ian’s memory to Alzheimer Society of Calgary or Carstairs Pawsitive Haven Animal Rescue or by planting a tree in his memory through the Choice Memorial obituary page.
After battling the cruel and irremediable Alzheimer’s for a number of years, our beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather passed away with his wife and son at his side at the age of 80. He was predeceased by his parents, Arnold Dezall (1975) and Ellie Ethel (1989). Ian leaves behind his loving wife of 45 years Donna of Carstairs, son Jim and his wife Cheryl of Calgary and their family – Amanda (husband Marc and son Lander), Christine, Russell of Calgary; his mother-in-law Marie Mason of Cochrane; his brothers-in-law Jim Chmilar (Margaret Letwin) of Grand Valley, and Bob Mason (Trudy) of St. Albert; three nephews – Brandon Chmilar (Meghann) and children Xavier, Samuel of Calgary, Brent Chmilar (Jen) and children Eli, Hana of Calgary, and Kiel Mason (Jenna) and son Arland of Revelstoke; three nieces – Angie Parsons (née Mason) (Erik) of Portland, Oregon, Burdine (née Chmilar) (Brian) Rex and children Evelyn, Laura, Charlotte of Calgary, and Alison Mason and children Linc, Maddy of Jasper.
Ian was born in Calgary in 1940 and spent his childhood in the Bowness and Sunnyside areas. After attending Crescent Heights High School, he completed a BEd in Industrial Arts from the University of Alberta. He taught at Victoria Composite High School, instilling a love of television arts and video technology in teens for many years. In I961, Ian and Tony Wood founded TEAM SUTUL for the purpose of building a Sports Racing Car and ran a team of three MG’s in many Alberta rallies. In I969, Mike Dean joined the team with two formidable Coopers and they began Auto Slalom, Ministock Racing and Rallying. He met Donna in 1972 at the Edmonton Light Sports Car Club and Donna joined the team. They married in 1975 and moved to 40 acres near Tofield in 1978, building a beautiful log house. They enjoyed one horsepower, showing and breeding Appaloosa horses and trail riding. Ian then furthered his education, attaining a PhD in Instructional Technology in 1991 with a GPA of 4.0. In 1987, they moved to the Grand Valley area near Cochrane, and Ian was recruited to the Canmore School Board as Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, and later by the Canadian Pacific Railway as Director of Training. After his retirement, they moved to a small acreage in Water Valley and then most recently to a home in Carstairs.
Ian was known as a ‘Trains, Planes and Automobile’ guy, big or small! His love of the railroad started as a child, riding the switching locomotives from Calgary to Field and back with Engineer Andy (his mother’s friend). He loved riding the trains, watching trains, talking about trains, and building and running model trains. Many hours of his youth were spent taking pictures of trains at the Alyth yards in Calgary, and he joined the train club in his teens. His first model train layout was in the basement of his family home, and became a standard in every house he owned, having the foresight to build it modular so it could be moved. He was an integral part of the Edmonton and Calgary Model Railroad Society for many years, including being on the CMRS Board of Directors a number of times. This love of trains is something he passed on to son Jim. In his later years, he enjoyed rail fan trips, historic train excursions, gardening, bird watching (absolutely loved the geese on the pond outside their home in Carstairs) and playing bocce. Ian and Donna made a bucket list and were able to complete the ‘toes in the ocean on both West Coast (Tofino, BC with dear friend Carol) and East Coast (Gros Morne, Nfld)’.
He will be missed by all whose lives he touched. Although a Celebration of Life is not possible at this time, condolences, stories and photos about memories with Ian can be added to his memory wall at www.choicememorial.com.
Tributes may be made in Ian’s memory to Alzheimer Society of Calgary or Carstairs Pawsitive Haven Animal Rescue or by planting a tree in his memory through the Choice Memorial obituary page.