Gordon’s Obituary
Gordon Murray MacNabb
O.C., B.Sc., F.R.C.A., F.C.A.E.
1931-2020
After a full and rewarding life Gordon passed away on March 15, 2020 with Lorna, his beloved wife, steadfast supporter and companion of more than 65 years by his side. He will be greatly missed by his sons Kevin (Ruth) of Deerfield, Massachussets, Stewart (Lori), Steven (Francesca) and James (Vickie) all of Renfrew County, Linda (Michael) Bedford of Beckhampton, England, and Barbara (Terry) Sigsworth of Verona, Ontario; his 18 grandchildren he was so proud of; and his brother Bruce and sister Allison (David) Kirkpatrick. He was predeceased by his parents Grace and Keith and his brother Ian. Gordon was immensely proud of this large family and followed the successes of his children and grandchildren with a great deal of pride and support.
Gordon was raised in Carleton Place, Ontario and graduated from Queen’s University with a B.Sc. in civil engineering in 1954. As a young engineer he played a very significant role in the planning, negation and operation of the Columbia River Power Treaty with the United States and, at the age of 33, was the chief technical witness in the Treaty’s support before Parliament in 1964. He continued his involvement in that project into his mid 80’s. At the age of 36, Gordon was appointed as the first Assistant Deputy Minister (Energy) in the new Federal Department of Energy, Mines and Resources. He went on to become Deputy Minister of the Department from 1975-1978. Over that period of time he carried many associated duties including being a board member of Atomic Energy of Canada, a founding board member of Petro Canada, CEO of Uranium Canada and Chair of the Energy Supplies Allocation Board in 1979. In 1978 he was appointed as the founding President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC) and, over his eight-year tenure built it into Canada’s largest research granting Council and strengthened the ties between university and industrial research. Leaving government service in 1986 Gordon established his own consulting firm and for over 25 years went on to help develop Centres of Research Excellence in Ontario and nationally in the fields of microelectronics, robotics and intelligent systems and to chair research review panels for the Alberta Government for over a decade.
Gordon’s contributions to research and energy policy were recognized by his being made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1995, a Fellow and President of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, receiving the Citizenship Award of the Ontario Association of Professional Engineers and being a recipient of 11 honorary doctorate degrees from Canadian universities. He was also the recipient of all three Queen’s Jubilee medals.
Since his reluctant retirement he turned his attention to community work in Carleton Place and Almonte, spending 13 years on the Carleton Place and District Memorial Hospital board and driving their redevelopment efforts and a similar time as Chair and board member of the Mills Community Support Corporation in Almonte. He was also a Charter Member of the Rotary Club in Carleton Place. While he was always rushed for time he was an avid gardener and lover of nature, especially at his second home on Hurds Lake near Renfrew where his grandchildren are now sixth generation residents.
Gordon wanted to thank the wonderful doctors and other staff at the Irving Greenberg Cancer Centre for the excellent and cheerful treatment he received over the last six years as well as that from Dr. Milko and the staff at OrchardView retirement home in Almonte, Ontario.
Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Alan R. Barker Funeral Home, Carleton Place. There will be a memorial gathering at a later date. In lieu of flowers a donation to the Carleton Place and District Memorial Hospital Foundation would be greatly appreciated.
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March 15 2020
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Gordon MacNabb March 15 2020..
Décès pour la Ville: Carleton-Place, Province: Ontario