George Holbrook of Waterloo

Born: Dec. 16, 1917, in Saskatchewan

Died: July 15, 2008, of stroke complications

George Holbrook was a kind and generous man of modest beginnings yet incredible accomplishments, having attained a PhD while teaching full time and, in 2004, he was awarded the Order of Canada for his role as an exceptional educator and leader.

George's parents immigrated from England to Saskatchewan as pioneers in the early 1900s, turning an allotment of prairie land into a thriving farm. When George turned 10, his father was successful enough to retire and move his family back to England.

Leaving Canada was not easy for George, whose wife Frances now wonders if the move was due to his mother's ill health. "She died shortly after they retired to England."

Though he felt uncomfortable in this new place, George soon caught on to the English way of life and excelled, particularly in school, awarded several scholarships including one for London University where he completed an electrical engineering degree. George's first job was with a telecommunications company. When the Second World War broke, he signed on with the Royal Corps of Signals. One of few well-educated soldiers, he was sent to officer training and given the rank of major, commanding a unit of 50 men who supplied signal for the 1st Air Landing Brigade.

George and Frances met by chance, on the way to their wartime jobs. She was a code breaker for the navy. Frances was attracted to his charm, his good spirits and his unyielding cheerfulness. In a time of war, it was easy to be morose, but George never let the conflict get to him. "He was a lot fun," said Frances. They married in 1944 and after the war, George was offered his old job, at the same pay rate. Frances said her husband was quite miffed at the offer, given his breadth of experience. By chance he met a Canadian officer who suggested men like him were needed in Canada.

George applied and in 1946 he was accepted, given the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Canadian Army and posted as chief instructor at the Royal Canadian School of Signals in Kingston. After four years, he got another challenge: founding the electrical engineering department at the Royal Military College.

"He got his PhD while teaching," said Frances, who recalls her husband studying long hours while teaching full time and raising three children. George did a master's degree at Queen's University in Kingston, then a PhD from London University which, in the age before computers, required flying to England.

"It took 11 years," recalled Frances, proud of her husband's accomplishments. "He really liked teaching. If he wanted to be a professor he had to be a PhD. He wanted to be really professional."

In 1961, he was offered the presidency of Nova Scotia Technical College, where he once again helped establish both the department of industrial engineering and the school of architecture. Then George got restless again and took an Ottawa-based job as director-general of the Communications Research Centre. After three years, facing some family issues, George retired. "He was only 54," said Frances. "We moved back to Nova Scotia."

She describes the beauty of their property, a renovated fisherman's house on the ocean. Adam Holbrook recalls how much his father loved fishing and boats, having built three or four fishing dories and spending many hours on his sailboat. When George's health began to deteriorate, they moved to Waterloo, closer to their daughter Jane. Adam, an adjunct professor at Simon Fraser University, lives in Vancouver. Their other son, Peter, died in 1973.

In 2004, George was made a Member of the Order of Canada for exceptional devotion as a mentor, innovator and leader while teaching engineering at both Royal Military College and Nova Scotia Technical College.

"He was very honoured," said Frances. "He was very modest about it and said he didn't know why he deserved it."

vhill@therecord.com