THOMAS GEORGE IVEY -

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THOMAS GEORGE IVEY 1939 - 2005 With his wife and daughters by his side, Tom passed away peacefully in his home on the morning of Thursday, September 1 after a hard fought battle with cancer. Tom will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by his wife Ruth, daughters, Kimberly of Calgary and Jennifer of Vancouver, Kimberly's husband Keith Hogue and their daughter Megan. Left also to mourn are his siblings, Donald of Kelliher, SK, Hazel (Lawrence) Snider of Fort Qu'Appelle, SK, Allan of Kelowna, BC, Wayne of Didsbury, AB and Constance (Gerald) Fisher of Regina, SK; brothers-in-law, Orland Wenaas of Calgary, AB, Bruce Borden of Swift Current, SK and numerous nieces and nephews. Tom was predeceased by his father Thomas (1990), mother Josephine (1984) and sisters, Marjorie (2000) and Joan (1980). Tom was born on July 1 on his family's farm near Ituna, SK. He was the second child and eldest son and while he enjoyed farming, he left home at 16 and tried his hand at a number of vocations, before finding his true calling in the transportation industry. In the early 60s Tom gained employment in Winnipeg at Reimer Express as a warehouse foreman, where he met Ruth in 1965, they married later that year. He earned his pilot's licence in 1964, his commercial pilot's licence in 1968 and his helicopter licence in 1976. Through the 70s Tom flew for Ilford Riverton Airways, flew and managed at St. Andrews Airways, and worked for Perimeter Aviation Ltd. In 1979, Tom and his family moved to Kenora, where he managed the airport Shell station and bought the Tilden (national) Rent-a-Car franchise. He purchased Walsten Air Service in 1986 and greatly expanded the operation, obtained Fort Frances Tilden (National) in the late 80s, and added Fort Frances Air in 1995. Tom truly loved his work. Tom enjoyed travel, and toured much of the Caribbean with Ruth. He was an avid reader, particularly of history, biography, and politics, and loved country and western, bluegrass, gospel, and folk roots music. Tom had a great interest in the Canadian landscape and wildlife, especially birds. Well known for his unique and quirky sense of humour, Tom's presence at the harbourfront will be sorely missed. Funeral service will be held on Wednesday, September 7 at Knox United Church with Capt. Gloria Redner officiating. Interment at Lakeview Cemetery in Fort Qu'Appelle on Friday. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Gideon Memorial Bible Society, 1-888-482-4253, P.O. Box 3619, Station Main, Guelph, ON, N1H 9Z9 or the Lake of the Woods District Hospital Foundation (807) 468-9861, 21 Sylvan St. W., Kenora, ON P9N 3W7.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Sep 06, 2005