Ian D. Startup

It is with great sadness that the family of Ian Day Startup announces his sudden passing in a fatal car accident on Tuesday, December 19, 2017, at the age of 69 years.

Ian will be lovingly remembered by his wife of 13 years, Jaki Connaughton; his children, Sandra (Gabriel) Ghali and Molly (Stuart Reed) Kleiker; his two grandchildren, Sarah and Willow; his brothers, Eric, Mark and Scott; sisters-in-law, Julie and Harmien; his aunts, Pat Ballantyne and Marie (Murray) Laufer, as well as many other family members and friends. Ian was predeceased by his previous wife, Margo Kleiker, and parents, Ivan and Shirley Startup.

The eldest son of four, Ian was born in Toronto and lived there for the first 10 years of his life. His family moved to Calgary in 1958 and Brantford in 1964, where he graduated high school at the Brantford Collegiate Institute. Ian then attended Lakehead University, where he trained as a civil engineer. He moved to Nova Scotia in 1972. In Ian’s professional life, he evolved from jewelry maker working in silver, gold, and precious stones, to a home-builder and developer specializing in energy efficient housing, and worked with the federal government as an educator and trainer in energy efficient building. Then at midlife he was smitten by his love of marble in Italy, and became active in sculpting for the rest of his life. He was able to travel and work on sculptures in Italy, Spain, Holland, Greece, Nepal, Vietnam, and the Canadian Artic, and was looking forward to an artist residency in Cuba with the University of Havana. He described feeling so inspired by the endlessly changing interaction between the sea and the shore, the sky and the horizon of the Nova Scotian landscapes. His endless creativity, inspiration, love of good music and food will stay with always.

The memorial service will be held Wednesday, December 27, 2017, at 11 am at St. James Anglican Parish Hall, 12 Parish St., Mahone Bay, NS.

Because of Ian’s great love of sharing food with friends and family, in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to local food banks and Feed Nova Scotia, or the Marpa Foundation (a monastery for young nuns in Nepal) http://www.ktgrinpoche.org/marpa-network.

Cremation entrusted to the care of Mahone Funeral Home, P.O. Box 200, 32 Parish St., Mahone Bay, NS B0J 2E0 (902-624-8241). Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting: www.mahonefuneral.ca