Ewen Miller Hepburn

January 25 1929 - July 20 2017

Passed away peacefully in his 89th year in West Vancouver. Miller is survived by his beloved wife of 67 years, Irene, his three sons: Allan (Marg de Grace), John (Sandy Ingham) and Chris (Karin Hepburn), his ten grandchildren and step-grandchildren: Dan, Monica, Megan, Kathleen, Jessica, Michelle, Joe, Ben, Colleen and Eric, and his three great grandchildren: Ethan, Nathan, and Arturo. He was pre-deceased by his sisters Mary and Janet, both of Winnipeg.

Born in Kitchener, he moved to Winnipeg as a child, where he met his true love Irene Ames and married her on May 24, 1950, in the midst of the great Winnipeg flood. He graduated in 1949 with an MSc in Physics and Math from the University of Manitoba. In 1950 he and Irene moved to Hamilton, where he started work at Stelco. Shortly afterwards, he moved to a new division of Westinghouse in Hamilton, and joined a collection of mostly British engineers in the Electronics Division, eventually becoming the division manager. He and Irene settled in Ancaster Ontario, buying a house and raising their family there. They attended Marshall Memorial United Church, where Miller sang in the choir and volunteered many hours towards church administration.

Miller took early retirement in 1988, so that he and Irene could devote more time to their cottage near Parry Sound and to their frequent meticulously planned excursions to Europe. Winter escapes to Carlsbad, where Irene’s older sister and brother-in-law lived, were added to the yearly schedule. When the days of constant travel came to an end, Irene and Miller decamped to West Vancouver, given that two of three sons and six of the grandkids had already migrated to the lower mainland by then.

Miller loved the relaxed outdoors, fine food, good arguments (he could, and often did, argue both sides with passion), Christmas, and children. He taught his sons that being bald was not the end of the world; but instead could be a great source of joy and entertainment (many wigs and headpieces were used to this end). His work involved world travel, and colleagues said that within 24 hours of arriving in a new city, he would know where the best restaurants were, and all this long before Yelp. He was an outgoing, good humoured man, loyal to his friends and co-workers, beloved by his children and grandchildren, and he never took himself too seriously. His extended family will miss him deeply, but remember him fondly.

The family will be holding a private memorial for Miller, and donations in his memory can be made to the Alzheimer Society.