Obituary of Ian Stanley Macdonald

Macdonald Ian S. of St. Catharines and formerly of Nepean and Montreal after a lengthy illness at the St. Catharines General Hospital-NHS on Saturday Nov. 26th, 2005 after a lengthy illness. Son of the late Ian R. and Mabel Macdonald. Much loved husband of Eileen (Cameron), loving father of Roy (Gwen) Nicol-Macdonald of Goderich and Carole Macdonald of Montreal. Loved grandfather of Joshua and Aaron. Also survived by his brother Brian Macdonald (Annette) of Stratford and his nephew Wyatt Macdonald of Hockley Valley.A graduate of McGill University in Mechanical Engineering, Ian was a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force during WW ll. He joined Air Canada (then Trans Canada Airlines) in 1947 and until 1961 did flight performance reviews on T.C.A.'s fleet development. In 1962 he initiated the company's Flight Safety Program with a specific task of handling accident investigations. In 1965 he became responsible for the evaluation and selection of Air Canada's fleet which included the Boeing 747-200, the Lockheed 1011, and the Boeing 767. In addition, he was deeply invovlved in the analysis and design of the Boeing SST (which was shelved) and the British-French Concorde.In the early 70's, Ian became the Director, Fleet and Production Planning responsible for the continued analysis and evaluation of all existing and proposed future transport systems. For over fifteen years he was Principal Lecturer on the Royal Aeronautical Society's Air Transport Course given at Oxford University, England. He was Past President of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute and was a founding member of the International Airlines Advanced Aircraft Committee. He was also Past President of the Air Cadet League of Canada and a passionate member and proponent of Rotary (33 years) and a member of the Rotary Club of St. Catharines.Though he devoted the bulk of his career to Air Canada, arguably his most distinguished work came as a private consultant when CIDA and IATA offerd him the opportunity to work with developing world nation's airlines. He would often recount with passion his admiration for the people of Nepal, Sudan, Djibouti and the Marshall Islands.Ian was a person who always mixed business with pleasure and as such enjoyed traveling the world with his beloved wife Eileen. They travelled to over 73 countries together. He will be missed by family, Rotarians and professional associates the world over.Ian's family welcome friends to join them at the George Darte Funeral Chapel 585 Carlton St. on Wednesday Nov. 30th from 10 to 11am. A funeral tribute to celebrate Ian's wonderful life will be held in the funeral home at 11 am.Interment will take place in Goderich. Memorial remembrances to Canadian Diabetic association or the Canadian Warplanes Heritage Museum would be appreciated by the family