August 5th, 1941 - September 2nd, 2024
Phil Kidston, 83, of Fergus Ontario, passed away on September 2nd, 2024, after a rapid decline due to heart failure and cancer.
Phil was born in August 1941 to James (Jim) and Elizabeth (Polly) Kidston in Vernon, BC. He grew up on the family orchard on the shores of Kalamalka Lake sleeping outside all summer, spending his free time with family, the Boy Scouts, skiing, and building boats. When Phil finished grade 13 he went on to study engineering at the University of British Columbia (UBC), working summers for the National Parks amongst the mountains that he loved.
After graduating in 1963, he started his first job at Canadian General Electric in Peterborough, kick-starting a 37 year career as a professional engineer. He loved spending time at cottages and boating with friends, even building his own catamaran.
In 1967, Phil met Cathy Robinson at a cottage party and they went on to get married and have two children, David in 1972 and Jamie in 1974. They bought their first cottage right before Jamie was born. Phil enjoyed helping out with a Peterborough area Sea Scout group on Little Lake before moving to Guelph in 1978 where he was an Akela with the 9th Guelph Scout Troop. His other interests included hiking the Bruce Trail, sailing and curling. His favourite family activities were traveling and canoe trips in Algonquin, the Kawarthas, and best of all, Temagami.
In 2001 Phil retired after working for 23 years on Ontario Hydro reactors with the Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL). He was happiest outdoors, on the water, hiking, travelling and volunteering. He was a section leader and spent a lot of time working on the Guelph Trail and the Bruce Trail. He was also a bit of a dendrophile, taking part for many years in the Ontario Tree Atlas Project. His grandchildren were the joy of his retirement. All family was important to Phil, and he loved visiting and keeping in touch with those living around the world.
A celebration of his life will be held at Giddy Funeral Home in Fergus on October 19th at 2pm. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to an organization Phil volunteered for and felt strongly about: the Bruce Trail Conservancy.
