Edwin "Ted" Moodie Mills

Ted was a devoted husband, loving father and steadfast friend to many. He is remembered warmly by his wife Judy; children Rick (Diane), Cathy (Gord), Susan (Alan) and Jocelyn (Mike); nine grandchildren and one great-granddaughter; and the many people whose lives he touched. He is predeceased by his parents Edwin and Betty, his brother Dick and his sister Julia.

Ted was born in 1930 and grew up in Hamilton, Ontario. He attended Hillfield School, Ridley College and the Royal Military College, Kingston, and excelled in sport, particularly gymnastics, football and skiing. Summers were spent at the family cottage on Oak Island in Muskoka. He regularly accompanied his father on month-long fishing expeditions by canoe along the remote rivers of Northern Ontario.

Ted completed his formal education at the University of Western Ontario, where he obtained a BA in 1954 and an MBA in 1959. It was here that he met and married Judith Anderson, the love of his life and steadfast partner for almost 70 years. They became close while working together at Jasper Park Lodge in the summer of 1953. Legend has it that by the end of a 24 hour day off which involved summiting Mount Edith Cavell in running shoes, they were inseparable.

In 1959, Ted and Judy made the decision to move their young family to Calgary. Both quickly embraced the excitement of this boomtown and at the same time fell in love with the majesty of the mountain wilderness on their doorstep.

Ted’s business career spanned 35 years and multiple roles and organizations including Golden Arrow Manufacturing, the PC Party of Alberta, the Alberta Government, the Banff Centre, the Calgary Chamber of Commerce and Vencap Equities. He loved building efficient organizations and putting in place effective decision-making processes. He always said the key to success was all about the people. Ted was a natural leader with an uncanny ability to communicate and engage with every level of an organization and get the best out of his team.

The highlight of his career was undoubtedly the decade spent working alongside Peter Lougheed to build the Alberta Conservative Party dynasty of the 1970s and beyond. In 1967, fresh from winning six seats in the provincial election and becoming the official opposition, Peter asked Ted to become the PC Party’s Chief Organizer. For four years he travelled the province, establishing 75 constituency associations, fundraising, selecting candidates and building the grassroots support needed to win an election. It worked, and on August 30, 1971, the party won 49 seats and Lougheed became Premier. Ted was appointed the Clerk of the Executive Council, with responsibility for organizing and managing the decision-making process for the government - including Cabinet, Caucus and Committees. The next four years were some of the most fascinating in both Alberta and Canadian political history. Ted was always proud to say that he had a seat at the table.

Ted’s interests extended far beyond the realm of business and politics. One of his greatest passions was the exploration of the mountain wilderness in Western Canada. His first exposure to the Canadian Rockies occurred in 1946, at the age of 16 when his father took him to an Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) General Mountaineering Camp in the Bugaboos. He joined the Club as soon as he was old enough and undertook many climbs and ski expeditions with the ACC in the ensuing decades. He also gave freely of his time and organizational skills as a Board member for most of the 1960s and Chairman of the Huts Committee for several years. In later years, together with their ACC friends, Ted and Judy embarked on many adventures further afield, including long distance treks in Europe, a memorable ten week exploration of the Austrian Alps and numerous trips by canoe, bicycle, barge and sailboat.

Without doubt, Ted will be remembered first and foremost as a family man. A caring and generous father, he and Judy introduced their children early to the joys of camping, mountaineering, canoeing and wilderness travel. Many family holidays were spent travelling throughout North America in their station wagon, singing along to the soundtracks from their favorite musicals. The family’s spiritual home became the cabin on Glenwood Beach at Shuswap Lake, a simple structure first erected in 1969 and expanded over the years with the addition of outbuildings, flush toilets, running water and (eventually but reluctantly) the ubiquitous Wi-Fi. It was here that a new generation of grandchildren were introduced to the simple pleasures of daily chores (“what, no dishwasher?!”), campfires, early morning swims, Grandpa’s passion for raking the forest, and the joy of just “messing about in boats”.

Following their retirement in 1990, Ted and Judy moved to Vancouver Island where they fulfilled a long-held dream and built their own house. They spent 16 wonderful years in the Mill Bay community, and left their mark through active involvement in the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, Community league and Trails Association. They returned to Calgary in 2006 to be closer to children and grandchildren, but continued to travel extensively. Over the next decade summers were spent at Shuswap, winters in Scottsdale, Arizona or Victoria, with numerous trips in between to see family and friends in Ontario, Nova Scotia and Europe.

A common link across all of the many facets of his life was Ted’s love for bringing together people to celebrate and share stories and memories. Family holidays were frequent and involved ever-expanding numbers. They included 50th and 60th wedding anniversary events in Jasper and Tuscany. The dinner parties that Judy and Ted hosted in their homes in Calgary, Banff, Edmonton and Mill Bay were the stuff of legend. Ted and a group of political cronies used to get together faithfully every year for the Len Werry Annual Fishing Trip (LWAFT). Reportedly, although very few fish were actually caught, there were tall tales and antics aplenty. Alpine Club of Canada outings were a source of much merriment and camaraderie. Invariably, these get-togethers always enabled Ted to indulge his love of pranks and games, and his passion for bad puns and silly jokes. We have all heard about the fire at the circus (the heat was intense!); been incapacitated by a game of “bite the bag”; or found ourselves on the wrong end of a broomstick holding a pail of water against the ceiling, wondering how we got there and what we were going to do next. And always there was Ted, watching on with that mischievous grin, eyes twinkling with merriment. Unsuspecting newcomers to any of these groups would be met with his favorite catchphrase: “We’re a big group, but we’re friendly!”

His final few years were challenging, but he bore the constant pain with stoic determination. Very few were even aware that he was suffering with cancer. He would still light up with the visit of a loved one or a phone call from an old friend and derived great pleasure from his favourite music, particularly when performed by his talented grandchildren.

He led a life worth celebrating and set an example that we can only hope to emulate.

Recognition of Ted’s life can be made by contributions to the Alpine Club of Canada backcountry huts fund at: https://alpineclubofcanada.ca/donate/

The family will hold a Celebration of Ted’s Life on Monday, December 9th , 2024 at 2:00 pm at Silver Springs Golf and Country Club, 1600 Varsity Estates Drive NW, Calgary. All are welcome.