He was born in Toronto and attended Upper Canada College and Ridley College, before finishing high school at Neuchatel Junior College in Switzerland. At Neuchatel, he competed on the hockey and ski teams. At Princeton, Ian majored in economics, writing his thesis on “Reasons for Canada’s Imbalance of Payments.” He was treasurer of Cloister Inn, a Whig-Clio member, and played freshman and varsity hockey.
After graduation, he attended business school at Columbia University, receiving an MBA in 1969, the year he married his wife, Becky. Ian worked for many years for Thomson Kernaghan and Co. in the investment business on Bay Street in Toronto, the Wall Street of Canada. He invested in several private ventures, including the 1985 purchase of Timothy’s World Coffee. He served as chairman of Timothy’s World Coffee, guiding the company’s strategic direction (while still working at his day job), and Becky served as president and chief operating officer (while she and Ian raised their three daughters). Ian left Thomson Kernaghan in 2000 and focused on developing his coffee company’s wholesale business, until he and Becky sold the company in 2008. They retired to their vacation house on Lake Muskoka, two hours north of Toronto. Ian loved being with his extended family and his dogs and listening to music.
Ian is survived by his wife of 52 years, Becky; daughters Bonnie Flemington, Michelle Nickel, and Laura Bowles ’97; and eight grandchildren.