Ian Pond passed away from heart failure after a decade long struggle with bone marrow disorders.  He was born outside London, England in the final days of WWII and raised in north London.  After graduating from the Cambourne School of Mines, he emigrated to BC in 1967.   He then traveled and lived abroad for many years before finally settling in Vancouver in 1984.  Ian loved music and complex harmonies and strived for the perfect harmony in his life.

For Ian, the root was his career as an underground mining engineer.  Over the years, he worked for several different mining companies:  Cominco, Ambercrombie in Australia, Redpath Engineering and, finally, Placer.  His work took him all over the world on many projects but the ones he remembered most fondly were the Black Angel in Greenland, Rubiales in northern Spain, Cortes Hills in Nevada and Porgera in Papua New Guinea. 

His harmony note was his love of the outdoors.  As a young boy, he fell in love with the mountains while visiting the Lake District in northern England.  He brought this love to Canada where he and his wife, Jean, spent many years skiing at Whistler and hiking all over B.C.

His melody note was his love of music and singing.  As a young boy, he sang in the choir at Southwark Cathedral.  Once he settled in Vancouver, he sang with a number of choirs including the Welshmen’s Choir, the Handel Society and Vancouver Voices. 

He is survived and will be deeply missed by his wife, Jean Lytwyn, and her family in Canada and his sister, Sally Wells and many nieces and nephews living in England.  He is predeceased by his older brother, Stephen. 

Over the years, Ian received the help of many medical professionals, too many to name, but a special thanks to Dr. Kevin Song, Dr. Michael Copeland, and NP Leah Christoff.  His care was a testament to our health system and its many devoted professionals.  In his final days, he was looked after with great care by the staff at Purdy Pavilion.  In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the VGH/UBC Hospital Foundation or a medical charity of your choice. 

There will be a gathering in memory of Ian at the Canadian Memorial Centre for Peace on August 24 starting at 11:00 a.m.  The Centre is at 1825 W. 16th Avenue (16th near Burrard).  We will gather at the Great Hall starting at 11:00 with a service in the Sanctuary at 11:30.   Lunch will be served after.  Please help us with numbers by providing an RSVP to ipond@telus.net