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Wednesday, January 23, 2008

J.A.S. Milne

It is with deep regret that I write of the passing of Mr. J.A.S. (Archie) Milne on January 14, 2008. Here he is pictured with his great grand daughter Indie (thanks for the picture Heather). He was 90 years old. I was fortunate to have visited him in December during my trip to Ontario. It was prior to Christmas and he was in fine spirits at the time. I've known Mr Milne since I was about 15 years old. He retired from Ontario Hydro and was very proud of the fact that he was the oldest pensioner they have ever had! Every Christmas he sent out his (in)famous 20 Questions to a select few, with $$ prizes for the most correct answers. I always looked forward to them (and learned quite a bit while searching for the correct answers). He was the only person I know that wrote letters to the Prime Minister when a government policy did not seem correct. He was never afraid to voice his opinion. And he was very proud of his heritage (as seen below - a photo taken at Andrea's wedding, July 16, 1978). I will miss his letters which he addressed to me as Lady G - his own little joke - a take on White Horse, making bets with him when the World Cup is on, and his lively spirit. Yes, he will be missed but never forgotten.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

ARCHIE MILNE Our proud Scot has left this mortal coil! Archie Milne passed away peacefully on Monday, January 14th, 2008, at Southlake Regional Health Centre, Newmarket. Archie was born in Irwin, Scotland in 1918, and immigrated to Canada with his parents and brothers and sisters when he was just a wee lad! Archie was a Veteran of World War II, serving as a Lieutenant in the 22nd Canadian Armoured Regiment of the Canadian Grenadier Guards and was mentioned in Despatch for distinguished service by King George VI. Archie cherished his life-long friendships with the 'frat'' group, his Ontario Hydro 'gang'' and with his neighbours from both Westmount Park Road in Etobicoke and from Aurora. An adoring husband of Helen for 57 years, and father of Heather and Andrea, Archie always remained a dedicated family man strong, generous, loving husband, father, uncle, father-in-law, grandfather and great-grandfather. Archie will forever be remembered for his passion for life, his strength to survive and his cunning wit. A most dignified and intelligent gentleman, Archie will be sorely missed by many. A traditional Scottish family ''wake'' will be held at Archie's beloved Six Mile Lake in the summer. ''Here's tae-us Gun cuireadh do chupa thairis le slainte agus sonas'' (Gaelic Salutation: May your cup overflow with health and happiness) - MJT

Anonymous said...

Thought you wouldn't mind me posting the above on your blog - It is so wonderful that you got to see him one last time in December. I will always remember your story of that visit. My remembrance of Archie was of him at all times being one of the best Hosts when you went to visit Andreas on Westmount and moreso the visits to the cottage up at six mile lake. I will always remember the cottage and the many interesting talks that we got into with Helen giggling all the way. When Walter phoned to thank me for the visit that we just had together I had said that it would be soooooo wonderful if Carol could come to visit in the summer when all is in bloom in the backyard and we could have an outdoor barbeque and sit in the 'secret place' and now I see that there will be a traditional scottish 'wake' up at six mile lake in the summer of 2008 - maybe my dreams will come true and Carol will visit this summer to go to the wake. --- Indeed to all who read this ----''Here's tae-us Gun cuireadh do chupa thairis le slainte agus sonas'' (Gaelic Salutation: May your cup overflow with health and happiness)- MJT

Anonymous said...

On another note - Thank you for the card. Just got it yesterday - Wish I had taken the sunglasses off - I look like a female Karl Lagerfeld - Went out and bought myself a turtleneck yesterday after seeing those pics as my neck is really showing the goiter. Now that the festive season is over I am working on getting healthy (I have a goiter, hyatis hernia, gastritis reflux) and all would be better if I lost weight - Got on the scale today and am 5 pounds lighter - yippeee. MJT