In Celebration of
John Timmins
March 21, 1928 - June 26, 2022
“I don't know where I am, but I'm making good time”
Our Dad had a true calling in life and that was to fly. At 16 years old he took to the sky, quickly earned his commercial pilot license and began to build up his flying hours by barnstorming across rural Quebec and flying as a bush pilot in northern Ontario. After two serious crashes (one nearly fatal) he was given his “chance of a lifetime” to fly DC3s for the newly formed airline, Hollinger Ungava Transport (HUT). As an HUT pilot he was a vital part of the world's largest civilian airlift, flying supplies and materials into the work camps that were occupied by the men and women building the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway (being built to transport iron ore out of the heart of Labrador). For six years he flew countless sorties between Sept-Isles, Quebec and Knob Lake, Labrador and collected a lifetimes worth of memories and adventures. While flying for HUT he met and married the love of his life, our Mom, Barbara Mary King Timmins. After retiring at a relatively young age from commercial flying he created Timmins Aviation Limited (TAL) which, among other things, was Canada's first full service provider for business aircraft. After TAL he continued to help build the Canadian aviation industry and worked in various capacities for Gates Learjet, Rockwell International and Short Brothers. He was then hired on as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for deHavilland Canada and was instrumental in establishing, on a global level, the highly successful Dash 7 and Dash 8 programs. Later in life he continued to follow his entrepreneurial spirit and created the airplane leasing company, Avline.
As children, the stories of his adventures inspired us to dream about our own futures and to not be afraid to reach for the same stars that had quite literally guided him as a young man flying over the Quebec wilderness. As adults, he supported us when we most needed help. And throughout our lives he made us laugh (sometimes even intentionally). Bye Dad, we love you, we'll miss you.
He is predeceased by his wife Barbara and survived by his children John, Suzanne, Michael (Patty Zuver), Margo (Graham Henderson), Carolyn (Geoff Pierson) and Peter (Sue Tarr Timmins). And by his grandchildren Chantal, Hunter, Leo, Xiu, Anna, Joe, Emma, Min, Michael, and Ed. In lieu of flowers please donate to the Dorothy Lea Hospice (https://dlhospice.org/).
Our Dad had a true calling in life and that was to fly. At 16 years old he took to the sky, quickly earned his commercial pilot license and began to build up his flying hours by barnstorming across rural Quebec and flying as a bush pilot in northern Ontario. After two serious crashes (one nearly fatal) he was given his “chance of a lifetime” to fly DC3s for the newly formed airline, Hollinger Ungava Transport (HUT). As an HUT pilot he was a vital part of the world's largest civilian airlift, flying supplies and materials into the work camps that were occupied by the men and women building the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway (being built to transport iron ore out of the heart of Labrador). For six years he flew countless sorties between Sept-Isles, Quebec and Knob Lake, Labrador and collected a lifetimes worth of memories and adventures. While flying for HUT he met and married the love of his life, our Mom, Barbara Mary King Timmins. After retiring at a relatively young age from commercial flying he created Timmins Aviation Limited (TAL) which, among other things, was Canada's first full service provider for business aircraft. After TAL he continued to help build the Canadian aviation industry and worked in various capacities for Gates Learjet, Rockwell International and Short Brothers. He was then hired on as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for deHavilland Canada and was instrumental in establishing, on a global level, the highly successful Dash 7 and Dash 8 programs. Later in life he continued to follow his entrepreneurial spirit and created the airplane leasing company, Avline.
As children, the stories of his adventures inspired us to dream about our own futures and to not be afraid to reach for the same stars that had quite literally guided him as a young man flying over the Quebec wilderness. As adults, he supported us when we most needed help. And throughout our lives he made us laugh (sometimes even intentionally). Bye Dad, we love you, we'll miss you.
He is predeceased by his wife Barbara and survived by his children John, Suzanne, Michael (Patty Zuver), Margo (Graham Henderson), Carolyn (Geoff Pierson) and Peter (Sue Tarr Timmins). And by his grandchildren Chantal, Hunter, Leo, Xiu, Anna, Joe, Emma, Min, Michael, and Ed. In lieu of flowers please donate to the Dorothy Lea Hospice (https://dlhospice.org/).