Obituary of Pierre Bussières
BUSSIÈRES, Pierre
February 2, 1930 - September 26, 2020
In the early morning hours of September 26th, 2020, Pierre Bussières, Dad/
Grand-père/Accomplished Gentleman/Pilot and Professor Emeritus, Royal
Military College, Kingston, departed on his final solo flight. His takeoff was
smooth and we sent him off with a tank full of love. His daughter Michèle, son
Mark, daughter-in-law, Nicole, granddaughters Pierre and Jocelyn and grandson
-in-law Fraser were the joy of his life, putting even his love of flying into second
place.
Born at Ste. Ursule, Québec, Pierre's family moved to Montréal when he was 10.
In 1948, RMC re-opened and Pierre was accepted into the first RMC class after
the war. After graduating from RMC in 1952, Pierre spent 14 years in the Royal
Canadian Air Force, working as a Flight Test Engineer, but he always dreamed
of getting behind the controls. During this time, he worked on a number of major
projects including the Avro Arrow and the CF-104 Star Fighter evaluation. He
joined the academic team at RMC in 1962 and, over the next 34 years, was a
living example of the old maxim that, if you love what you do, you will never work
a day in your life. In 1966, Pierre earned the first Master's degree granted by
RMC, and, in 1972, he earned his PhD from Queen's University. Retiring from
RMC in 1996, Pierre continued to teach in a contract role for several years while
taking on a multitude of volunteer roles including teaching basic computer skills
to seniors and doing neighbourhood volunteering with the Heart and Stroke
Foundation.
Retirement also gave him the time to indulge his passion for music and he was a
long time subscriber to classical and other series at the Grand Theatre and later
at the Isabel Bader Centre. It also gave him more time to spend at his home/
cottage near Battersea, which he, along with his former wife, Jean, purchased in
1979. Gardening, building, and fixing things filled his days and kept him busy
and energized. His ability to complete at least one (and often two) crossword
puzzles a day was legendary. He continued to enjoy driving around town, and
further afield, in a series of red Mustangs. Thankfully, his recognition of the
potential loss of his driver's license, and increasing insurance costs, reduced the
number of speeding tickets as he headed past 70! He also enjoyed traveling
with his family, and their multi-generational trip to France in 2015 was a highlight
in his memory book. More recent trips to visit his granddaughters in Vancouver,
and to finally see Bourbon Street in New Orleans, ticked off a number of bucket
list items.
Obtaining his private pilot license at the age of 65, Pierre was finally was able to
satisfy his earlier passion for flight. He logged thousands of kilometers and
spent joy-filled hours planning his summer schedule of Sunday fly-in breakfasts
at airfields across Ontario and Québec. No one would have ever referred to him
as "a morning person" but he had no problem getting out of bed at 6:00 a.m. and
heading to Kingston Airport if there was a plane and a destination in mind. Up
until his 88th birthday, he took a solo flight on his birthday every February 2nd,
and had his picture snapped proudly standing in front of a plane, holding a sign
with his age and a smile that stretched from ear to ear. Pierre's last flight was
January 24th, 2020, and his report of having nailed the landing will be long
remembered by those of us who formed his ground crew.
His family would like to thank the wonderful teams at the GI Clinic at KGH, the
Cancer Care Clinic at KGH, and the remarkable team at the Palliative Care Unit
at Providence Care Hospital. Your care, your compassion, and the time you
gave all of us through this challenging time will be long remembered, and we are
forever grateful.
There will be no funeral services, however, the family is planning a Celebration
of an Amazing Life when COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to the Cordite
Foundation, Royal Military College, Kingston, Ontario. https://www.rmc-cmr.ca/
en/mechanical-and-aerospace-engineering/aims-cordite-foundation
