OBITUARY OF JAMES ILETT When James Ilett left this life on December 28th 2012, he left it a better place for the 94 years he had so fully lived in it. He left a legacy of achievements, the inspiration of a life well lived and a personality that endeared. The impact of his life lies in his work but also in the very man he was: soft-spoken but nevertheless forthright in his opinions and firm in his ideals; gentle-mannered but with a keen wit; quietly courteous and kind, yet confident in the authority of his brilliant mind; enormously hard-working and with total reliability and integrity but with a mischievous sense of humour; appalled by extravagance, waste or ostentation but with a huge generosity of spirit. Born Didsbury (Manchester), England on August 12, 1918, the oldest son of John James Ilett and Clarissa Florence Horsley Mellors, he grew up in the city of Leeds. He won a scholarship to Leeds Grammar School and graduated with a first class honours degree in Economic and Political Science from Leeds University in 1939, when he left the city to serve in WW2. He never lived there again, but by some strange symmetry, 39 years later, settled in the county of Leeds, Ontario where he spent the last 30 years of his life. In between, he had lived and worked in over 40 countries, fired by a love of travel and an overriding desire to serve his fellow man. As a boy, his traveling adventures had begun with a course of schooling in Heidelberg. Though a man of peace by instinct, the war took him, as a Captain in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, to Egypt. But before that, more importantly, he was stationed with the Artillery in Aberdeenshire, Scotland where he met and fell in love with Violet Martha Bella Dunn. They married in 1942. She was a primary school teacher and continued teaching in Scotland till he was demobbed and they were finally able to begin their life together. Down in Southern England, Jim studied at the London School of Economics and then worked till 1954 in the Board of Trade as Research and Development Officer on the economic and industrial recovery of post-war Britain. This was followed by a stint in the Monopoly Commission. By then, Vee – as friends knew her – had given birth to three girls: Jacqueline, Rosalind and Margaret. Life was good and, by now, Jim had been promoted to the rank of Principal within the Civil Service, but the young couple were pining for a life of more adventure. So in 1955 they “escaped” to the vibrancy of West Africa, Jim having been given three years’ leave of absence to work on The Volta River Preparatory Commission in The Gold Coast (subsequently Ghana), as economic officer for a large multi-purpose hydro-electric development. Jim loved the work; Vee taught and the family thrived there, and it was only unwillingly that they returned to the United Kingdom when the ‘leave’ was up. Back at the Board of Trade, Jim commuted to Whitehall, in charge of the overseas operations of British insurance companies, and handling commercial relations with seventeen countries, mostly in Latin America. But in 1962 the opportunity arose to go back to Africa – this time to Uganda as a UN advisor, revising and preparing the first two 5 year plans for the country’s economic development, which are still in use as models elsewhere today. He then took a permanent position with the United Nations as Inter-regional Advisor on Economic Planning at Headquarters in New York. His responsibilities took him to thirty seven different countries around the world in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, advising governments on various aspects of development, policy, planning and international economic co-operation; sometimes to war-torn countries to help in reconstruction. Whenever safely possible, Vee joined him on these adventures. On Jim’s retirement in 1978, they came to live in the Thousand Islands region of Canada, buying an old farmhouse near Rockport, when work for the World Bank and overseas missions for the UN continued on a consultancy basis. But Jim and Vee both also played an active part in the community, especially the Lansdowne United Church where Jim was an Elder, Wall Street United Church, the restoration of Springfield House in Escott, the South Leeds Planning Board, the Parks Canada commission, and, especially, the development of the Lansdowne Waste Management Facility ~ with which Jim was still actively involved when the couple moved to Brockville in 1998. After Vee’s death in 2000, he moved into Bridlewood Manor retirement home. There he met Janet Cooper Boire and they married in 2002. Although Parkinson’s disease was diagnosed in 2003, he continued an active life. Since 2010 he was mostly wheelchair-bound at Sherwood Park Manor nursing home, but would enjoy being assisted to dance to the delight of residents and staff alike. Over the course of his career, a number of Jim’s research works have been published, and in recognition of his standing as an economist, he was elected to President of the Society for International Development, New York Chapter. His many interests included a lifelong enthusiasm for learning new languages, railways, antique cars, foreign affairs, woodworking, inventing, dancing, and boating – especially on the St Lawrence River and Rideau Canal. When once asked ‘What is your dream?’ his response was ‘That we have a world government which settles disputes without war.’ He walked the walk of his belief in our responsibility toward our fellow man, helping make our world kinder, saner, safer and more equitable for all. Ever considerate of others and a true gentleman, he will be greatly missed by all who knew him. James was also predeceased by his second wife, Janet, and by his daughter, Wendy (Margaret) Keryk. He is survived by his daughters Jacqueline Ilett of Yelverton, England and Rosalind Ilett of Potsdam, NY; his brother Edward Thomas Ilett and wife Kathleen of Harrogate, England; nephew John Ilett, wife Tracy and twins Lauren & Jack of Brisbane, Australia; son-in-law John Keryk of New City, NY; and friend Holly Griffin of Yelverton, England. The funeral service was held at Wall Street United Church, Brockville, Ontario on Jan 3 with Rev. Dr. Alan Bennett officiating, assisted by Rev. Stewart Froese. Mr. Ilett’s daughters spoke on memories of their father. Burial followed at Oakland Cemetery. Messages of condolence may be sent to rosalindilett@yahoo.com.au