BARRETT, Ian Charles April 18, 1945 – July 25, 2017 Suddenly and unexpectedly, Ian passed away Tuesday at his home in Ridgeway, Ontario, Canada. Ian was born in Doncaster, England and came to Newfoundland with his parents at a young age. Ian was accepted into grade one at the age of four, which gave an early indication of promise. Ian graduated from High School in Toronto at the age of 15 and was accepted into the University of Toronto, where he excelled in Mathematics and Biochemistry. Although he had never played football, at six feet, three inches tall and 210 pounds, he walked on the field and was immediately selected as a tackle for the U of T Blues varsity football team. Upon graduation from the University of Toronto (Honours, Science) Ian joined Price Waterhouse and began articling for his CA. Like many young men of his time, Ian’s interests began to change. When walking up Yonge Street, he was invited into a recruitment area for teachers. He was offered a position as chemistry teacher and began teaching at the age of twenty-one at Riverdale Collegiate. At this point in his life, now a mature 22 year-old, Ian married the love of his life, Susan Ann McHugh (“Sam”). In order to teach closer to home, Ian moved to Silverthorn Collegiate. Looking for a new teaching challenge, Ian transferred to Lakeshore Collegiate. Over the years, Ian demonstrated his caring and affection for others in many tangible ways. “Chuck”, as his students affectionately called him, is a nickname that has remained. Ian mentored many students; a number of whom have stayed in close contact over the years, including his close and enduring relationships with Norm, Gerald, Rick and Rubin. Ian co-founded and wrote the curriculum for an innovative Grade 10 Outdoor Education Program for Etobicoke which allowed 500 inner city kids to enjoy the wilderness experience. Ian was the driving force and the reason the Program ran successfully for over 20 years. This Program became a blueprint for many schools throughout North America. Ian was always a supporter of after school activities, including coaching both the women’s basketball and men’s lacrosse teams on to championship seasons. Always up for a challenge and after overcoming great odds and political resistance, Ian took his Silverthorn High School hockey team to Russia (before Team Canada got there in the 1972 series), where they earned great respect from Anatoli Tarasov (the father of Russian hockey) and the rest of the Russian Red Army while playing them in front of 11,000 Moscovites at Lenin Stadium in the Sports Palace of Moscow. In his early 20’s, Ian was named one of “Canada’s Most Outstanding Young Men” and later received The Ontario Teacher of the Year Award. Throughout his career as a Teacher, Coach and Mentor, Ian’s curiosity about life and eagerness to take on new projects, led him into a number of other teaching assignments including mathematics and photography (Ian led a student delegation to victory in Kentucky). When asked by the Etobicoke Board of Education to head up a new department, Ian focused on forming associations with the corporate world to explore co-op possibilities. Ian embraced this challenge thoroughly. With his usual passion and energy, he went on to form more than 600 partnerships between Education and Corporations. This real-world training afforded numerous students larger views on life and new skillsets. Ian again wrote a “How to Manual”, which led to many speaking engagements in other jurisdictions in North America and France. Ian was then asked by the Kitchener Waterloo Board to initiate this Public-Private Model at their Board. He took on that challenge and successfully developed the program. After two years, Ian decided it was time to retire and focus on more personal endeavours. He began exploring more deeply his own place in the world and over time wrote and published six books and one novel; “I’m Swimming In The Gene Pool Without A Lifejacket” ( or 127 Lessons Learned on How to be Happy and Dysfunctional at the Same Time; a humorous self-help autobiographical romp), “Watches Of The Night” (an adventure in the time of King Arthur), “Across the River Styx” (an investigation of the afterlife), “Wandering Beyond The Darkness” (a journey into spirituality), “The Ninth Universe” (a conversation between God and Gabriel told in poetic prose), “When Mists Shade The Rainbow” (a collection of poems that focussed on important events in Ian’s life) and “Dark Comes the Night” (a fast paced action adventure novel about drugs, terrorism and high treason). Ian and his soulmate Susan were married for 50 years and together created a country home on several acres just north of Acton, Ontario. With Ian’s muscle and Susan’s creativity, they turned their home and grounds into an oasis and Ian always looked upon it as his “fortress of solitude”. Ian’s devotion to animal welfare was an important part of his life. He and Susan rescued and permanently adopted more than twenty dogs and cats over the years. Additionally, Ian was one of the first supporters of Animal Alliance in Toronto (an animal rescue organization). He was on the Board of the Forks of Credit Humane Society, as well as supporting various animal charities. Ian was an ardent environmental advocate and an avid outdoorsman. He enjoyed Ontario’s wilderness with his very close friends on his annual white-water canoe trips. For 27 years Ian braved the rapids of various waterways including the Missanaibi, Mississagi, French and Petawawa Rivers. He did so with gusto and thirst for life. Ian was fond of telling people his childhood claims to fame; stealing Roy Rogers’s gun at the age of 6 (including a chase through the CNE grounds by Roy, and Ian’s irate Mother, to retrieve the gun) and walking the beach in Cuba with Tommy Douglas for 2 hours (who he admired greatly), discussing life and politics. Ian is survived by his loving wife Susan, two nephews, Stephen (Alysha) and Matthew, two great-nieces Madelyn and Charlotte, loving friends Bob and Jill, Ozzie and Dorothe, Bruce and Noreen and Larry (deceased). In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made in Ian’s name to the Fur Bearer Association for the Protection of Fur Bearing Animals (3727 Renfrew Street, Vancouver, British Columbia) or Animal Alliance of Canada (221 Broadview Avenue, Suite 101, Toronto, Ontario, M4M 2A3). Ian’s wish was that there be no funeral, but rather his family and friends would join Susan in a celebration of his life. Information regarding this celebration will be announced at a later date. Ian has crossed the “Rainbow Bridge” toward his next new challenge and is now surrounded by his many loving pets. Ian will be remembered and missed by all who were fortunate to know him.