It is with overwhelming sadness that we announce the passing of our much loved, husband, father, and grandfather. Ian was predeceased by his father, Derek Manners. Left behind to grieve are his wife of 43 years Deborah, his children Hayley (Kyle) and Chris (Navi), his grandchildren, Rhys, Gavin, Alys, and baby James, his mother Jean, his brothers Neil (Tracy) and Clive (Lucy), many nieces and nephews, as well as members of his research group (current and past) and the many colleagues and friends at UVic and around the world.
Ian was born in Croydon, UK. He completed his BSc and PhD in chemistry at the University of Bristol, UK. Following this, he was a postdoctoral fellow first at RWTH Aachen University (1986), Germany and then Pennsylvania State University, USA (1988). He took up his first faculty position in 1990 at the University of Toronto and then moved back to the UK in 2006 to take up a position at the University of Bristol. He returned to Canada in 2018 where he took up a faculty position at the University of Victoria. He has mentored many postdoctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students over the years. Ian made such an impact on their lives and this was demonstrated by the overwhelming support received from them over the course of his long and courageous battle with cancer. As well as his obvious passion for chemistry, Ian loved nature and spent weekends and holidays hiking the many beautiful trails on Vancouver Island. Ian had a great sense of humour; he always made us laugh and had such fun with his grandchildren. His concern for his family and research group was uppermost in his mind through his final days. We will miss you and love you always.
We would like to thank the nurses and doctors at BC Cancer (especially Dr. Selina Wong), his wonderful GP, Dr. Oosthuizen, and the amazing people at Home and Community Care and the Victoria Hospice Palliative Response Team for their kindness and compassion.
In Lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Victoria Hospice.
For those who wish to watch a recording of the service, please click on the image below.
Condolences may be offered to the family below.
McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com
80 Responses
Dear Navi and Chris . Sorry for your loss. Please accept our condolences. Loss of a. Parent leaves a big void in our lives. May Lord give you the strength to bear the loss.
My deepest condolences to his family. His smile, humour and enthusiasm were always contagious, especially when experiments wouldn’t work or go anywhere. He always knew how to boost morale. He touched so many lives. He certainly touched mine. RIP, Ian.
Prof Ian Manners was such an inspiration and an excellent research manager with sincere care and love for his students and post-docs despite the huge number of group members. It seems like yesterday when I sat in his office to discuss manuscripts, research and thesis chapters. His dedication of many 1:1 sessions for his grad students to listen to their presentations several times and to prepare each student for their oral examinations. I was discussing my project to decipher reaction mechanisms and I remembered his words of encouragement to tell me “this is as difficult as science gets”.
I am very sad to hear of his passing and my sincere condolences to his loved ones. Sending my big hugs to Deborah.
My condolences on the loss of Ian. It was my honor to work under his supervision. I can’t forget his smiling face. Great loss to Scientific community. You will be always with us.
My condolences to the entire family. As an undergraduate at U of T, I took a couple courses that Ian taught. I really admired his informal and friendly teaching style and part of that carries on in my own lectures at York. -Derek
Ian was an extremely cheerful mentor. Someone that I connected with on a deep personal level. Extremely smart and caring. He made such a positive contribution to all his students and colleagues’ lives. Professor Manners is leaving a lasting legacy of impressive work to the scientific community. He will be continue to live on in our hearts and memory.
Ronnomer
My condolences on the loss of Ian. He was an amazing collaborator and scientist who was an inspiration to the younger generation. It was a pleasure working with him on research projects and other initiatives.
Please accept condolences on behalf of myself and the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences at UVic on Ian’s passing.
My sincere condolences for your loss. I was aware of his courageous battle and I am so sad to hear of his passing. I knew Ian through the Canadian Chemistry Community where his contributions and legacy are large and lasting. His work, his approach and his mentorship have touched many. This shared grief will be spread around the world. I hope you feel the concern and support of all those that are thankful that you shared your husband, father, grandfather so generously and with so many. Peace be with you.
It was an honour working with Ian over the years. He was such a great colleague and friend. What a loss.