Douglas James Collinge

Douglas James Collinge passed away on June 25, 2021, of pancreatic cancer. Doug was an extraordinary polymath. Throughout his life, he passionately pursued hundreds of highly diverse interests, often at a very high level of skill. He had a brilliant technical mind and his technical interests included, at various times, music composition, computer programming, amateur radio, home chemistry, brewing, distilling, designing and building electronics of all types (including synthesizers and computers), physics, math, 3D printing, knife making, basket weaving, machining parts for engines, studying and translating medieval Icelandic literature, and many more. At different times, he was also avidly interested in cycling, gardening, espresso, sailing, learning German, and playing a variety of instruments (including trumpet, guitar and piano). Doug was welcomed to this world by parents Jim and Grace and sisters Liz and Fran on June 14, 1954 in Fergus, Ontario. When he was four, the family left the farm and moved to Vancouver Island, where his parents took over Jim's Low Cost, a medium sized grocery store in the Belmont Park neighbourhood of Colwood. Doug spent his youth enjoying the area, including climbing trees and swimming in the Esquimalt Lagoon and exploring Fort Rodd Hill (which was abandoned at the time). He attended Colwood Elementary, Dunsmuir Middle School and Belmont High. As he grew, he developed a love of taking things apart, blowing things up, making new things and music. While in high school, he began tutoring others in math - an early manifestation of his gift for teaching. After high school, Doug studied math and computer science at the University of Victoria. While doing so, he worked at the Computer Science lab, where he helped many students manage their stacks of punch cards and decipher the sometimes surprising results of their attempts at computer programming. Following his bachelor's degree, Doug obtained a master's degree from the UVic School of Music, where he went on to become a professor and receive tenure. He established many life-long friendships during his time at UVic. After leaving UVic, Doug turned to a career in computer programming, first as a private contractor and then in the BC public service. Before he retired, Doug worked for the Office of the Chief Information Officer. Doug and his first wife, Madeleine, had two sons, Michael and Aden, who are now in their 30s. Doug's favourite role in life was being a father. He was deliberate, thoughtful and energetic in his approach to providing the most enriching childhood possible. His philosophy of fatherhood was to teach his sons about the world through experimentation and experience. During his sons' childhoods, he spent his evenings and weekends exploring the world with them. Among other things, they built and flew box kites, dammed a stream on Doug's parents' property on Gabriola Island, soldered electronics, built a tree fort in their backyard, designed, built and set off rockets, made pinhole cameras, played music together and with friends, unsuccessfully tried to produce hydrogen using an electrolyzer, viewed meteor showers, and burned thermite on their back deck. He also imparted a healthy scepticism about all forms of conformism and nonsense to them. Sometime in his 50s, Doug discovered cycling and he and his partner, Mary Ann, spent thousands of hours cycling, not only in Southern Vancouver Island, but also on longer trips to the Gulf Islands, the Lower Mainland, Washington State, Portland and Europe. In 2019, they spent two months cycling and camping through Germany, Austria, Slovenia and Italy. They also enjoyed hiking, cryptic crosswords, Sudoku, learning to speak German and sampling the offerings of the odd local coffee shop. They successfully created a blended family of children and extended relatives who will remain ever-connected. Doug had a way of quietly connecting with people in big and small ways, and most encounters with him were memorable. He had a generous smile, quiet presence, and many kind, encouraging and insightful words and stories. He loved solving problems for people, especially if solving them meant he could design something, weld something, or turn something on his tiny lathe. Left profoundly grateful for his presence and forever changed by it are: his partner, Mary Ann; sons Michael (Sascha), Aden (Veronica); grandson Luca; step-daughters Isha (Graydon) and Sarah; sister Fran (Barry); nephew Andrew (Pasha); nieces Carmen (Mike) and Meaghan (Steve); grandnieces Parker, Audrey and Gwenyth, mother-in-law, Edith; brother-in-law Stephen (Sue); and many other friends and family. The world was a better place because of Doug's presence and is much diminished now that he is gone. In lieu of flowers, charitable donations can be made to the Radio Amateurs of Canada Foundation. Please contact Michael at mcollinge@gmail.com for details.