Wilfred Kenneth (Ken) Dawson, born on October 6th 1927 in Quebec City, died on January 17th 2022, in Vancouver, BC, aged 94.
Ken attended Quebec High School, and McGill University in Montreal for one semester, cut short by his near death and two-year recovery from rheumatic fever. During this forced inaction he became keenly interested in the English language. He then enrolled in the newly-formed science department of Laval University in Quebec City to graduate in 1951, one of 13 in his chosen field of Physics. He proceeded to get his MA and PHD degrees at Queen’s University. He and Louise got married on May 10, 1954 and moved to Suffield AB for Ken to work with the Defence Research Board. After four years, when the project came to an end, he and several colleagues went to reinforce the Nuclear Physics department at U of A in Edmonton where Ken became a much appreciated tenured professor.
After a wonderful two-year sabbatical in Los Alamos, NM, Ken was seconded to TRIUMF at UBC where he continued to work until his retirement. Concurrently, he got involved as a volunteer with IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) where he held several important posts and travelled all over the globe to meetings. In the last two and a half years, he was a resident of South Granville Park Lodge because of mobility problems with which Louise could not help him adequately. His end came quickly and mercifully by an arrest of his great heart. He was a quiet man of great talents, kindness and integrity, with a wry sense of humour, who was loved and esteemed by all. He will be terribly missed by all his friends and family from near and far.
He leaves to mourn him his wife of 67 years, Louise, his daughters Denise and Michelle, his son Rémy (Lillian Mah), his sister Shirley, and was predeceased by his grandson Sean Lineham in 2008.