Deceased November 1, 2002
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In Memory
I am deeply saddened to report the sudden death caused by a heart attack of Ian Finlayson last Nov. 1, 2002, while walking his dog near his family home in the Rosedale section of Toronto. Born Feb. 29, 1948, to Marjorie and the late R. W. (Bill) Finlayson, Ian is survived by his mother, brother Fraser, wife Marlo and sons Campbell and Fraser. At the time of his death, Ian was chairman and president of Finlayson Enterprise, Ltd. and past chairman of Springs Canada, Inc. In addition to his B.A. from Amherst, he was an Old Boy of Upper Canada College (’67) and received a M.B.A. from Columbia University (1973). His list of board seats and charitable activities is too numerous to recount here, but no one who knew Fin will be surprised by his extensive participation in the Toronto business and eleemosynary communities.
At Amherst, Ian was a political science major, a member of Chi Phi fraternity (president 1971), a varsity athlete in both ice hockey and track and an honors graduate. Along with Ted Tombs and Peter French of our class, Ian was one of the best hockey players of his era and had outstanding defensive skills. In track, he was a member of the 1969 Little Three champs and participated in long jump, triple jump, high jump, the mile relay and the 440 and 100. He was co-captain (with Jim Reed) his senior year and received the “A Association Award” that year from his coach and teammates in recognition of “best determination and sportsmanship.” Although he did not play varsity football at Amherst, Ian was a great punter and had set Canadian schoolboy records the year prior to his Amherst matriculation. To quote senior-year roommate Ted Peters ’72, “I can remember him booming 45-50 yard bombs in intramural touch football. He told Darp (Jim Ostendarp, head football coach) that he would punt for the football team but couldn’t come to practice regularly. Darp declined (to the great relief of the Chi Phi intramural team).”
Of course, a recitation of Ian’s achievements does little justice to the man. He was universally popular and respected at Amherst because, again in Ted Peters’ words, “He was the consummate gentleman, in sharp contrast to the norm of that era. Fin was always thoughtful and considerate of those around him. He was always upbeat, always positive, always with a nice smile.” Ian roomed with Ted Peters and Bill McNitt in Chi Phi his senior year. Bill remembers Ian as a “a fastidious dresser and a wonderful roommate who would bend over backwards to respect the rights of Ted and myself.” Bill stayed in touch with Ian after graduation, primarily through Fin’s business trips to Chicago (among other things, Finlayson Enterprises is a distributor of consumer goods, such as children’s clothes, toys, perfumes, etc). “He had become a wine connoisseur and had accumulated quite a personal collection. He would love to try out restaurants’ wine lists, and we would reminisce for hours about Amherst. Besides collecting wine, Ian loved fishing and golf, and he loved hearing about our classmates.”
David O’Kell ’74, a fellow Toronto Canadian, shared a friendship with Ian that spanned more than three decades. He credits Ian with convincing him to attend a U.S. college, hosting him on an orientation trip to Amherst (complete with “a very memorable weekend at the Chi Phi fraternity”), sponsoring him to Chi Phi, and being a “considerate friend and a very gracious host.” David writes that Ian “had a tremendous enthusiasm for Amherst and his fraternity, where he had made so many lifelong friends. He served as the Amherst Canadian representative, sharing his positive attitude about the school for the benefit of other Canadian prospects. He returned for each major reunion and was a regular participant in the annual Chi Phi ’71 golf junkets. Ian was a classy, straightforward guy who always took the time to show an interest in the people around him. For me, Ian was a good friend, a gentleman, a gracious host, a raconteur and above all a man of unquestionable integrity and sincerity.”
For my own part, as I have contacted members of our class and other friends of Fin’s, I have been impressed by the esteem and regard with which Fin was held by all. He would be embarrassed by their kind and thoughtful comments. I am particularly saddened by Fin’s death because I feel he and I had rediscovered and significantly improved upon a passing friendship at Amherst. While Fin and I were classmates and fraternity brothers, and while we were certainly good friends at Amherst and more than occasional drinking buddies, we were not each other’s closest friend, roommates or even teammates. We did not have many of the usual bonds for young men at that time and place. In fact, much to my current regret, we did not stay in touch in the years immediately after college and only had the opportunity to reconnect briefly at several reunions. Still, for me, Fin had remained for those intervening years one of my fond memories from Amherst and, when I determined a few years ago to get some of us back together through what became annual golf trips to Florida (and even two side trips to Cleveland and one to Boston), Fin was one of the first classmates to come to mind. I felt then, and his subsequent participation proved me correct, that his good spirit, sense of humor and appreciation for life would help make a several-day get-together a great deal of fun. I also knew that getting Fin to agree to join us would be a catalyst for getting others, and again I was correct. That I was able to say “Fin’s on board” was all it took to hook others. Fortunately, Fin was as enthusiastic as I about getting the old Chi Phi crew back together for some light-hearted golf and serious friendship rebuilding, and those trips are among my most treasured life memories.
Our golfing group (Marc Beebe ’69, Steve Hill, Peter French, Jon Linker, Ted Peters, Ted Tombs, Randy Wheeler and myself) also recognizes the unique qualities Ian brought to our gatherings. Fin was not the group clown, of course; he was much too proper (at least with us) to “wear the lamp shade.” But his wry comments and joie de vivre helped others put on the shade, and he laughed as hard as anyone. His humor was never sharp or hurtful, but always just that—humor—a fun and funny way to view the world and his friends. Whether on the course (or more usually, ball-hawking in the rough), at the 19th hole or at the celebratory dinners, he was in his subtle way the true life of our parties. Our future trips will not be the same, but we will certainly remember Fin at each of them. One likely contribution he will still make is that we will all be much more conscious of seizing the moment, of not easily letting pass any future chances to meet and enjoy our special friendships.
This remembrance would be incomplete without specific mention of Ian’s deep and abiding love for and commitment to his family. He and Marlo met during Fin’s graduate years at Columbia and married soon after. He was very happy with, and proud of, his enduring relationship with Marlo, sentiments he shared with me just last October. He was also immensely proud of his sons, Campbell and Fraser, and took great pleasure in their achievements, their entries into manhood and their prospects for happy, fulfilling lives. In an era where such love and commitment is sometimes shallow, Ian sincerely believed in and exemplified the very best qualities of a “family man.”
I will miss Ian tremendously, but I am better for knowing him, and I will always treasure his friendship. I suspect all of his friends and associates feel exactly the same. As Ted Peters wrote, “If there’s a heaven, the ‘Fin-Meister’ is already there. God bless his soul.”
Mark T. Coffin ’71