Obituary of RICKETTS – Henry Harcourt

August 1, 1917 – July 10, 2010 With heavy hearts and a wealth of great memories our family announces the death of Henry Harcourt Ricketts (Ricky) on Saturday, July 10, 2010 in his 93rd year. Henry was born in Rangoon, Burma on August 1, 1917, the third child and only son of Alfred Arthur Hickman Ricketts and Annie Josephine Wells. His early childhood was spent in various locations in Burma. At the age of nine he was taken to England and settled into a boarding school at Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk before spending the next nine years at Warwick School which specialized in the sciences. From 1936 to 1939, St. John’s College, Cambridge was his home. He left there with a BA Mechanical Sciences Tripos, as well as pilot’s wings obtained flying with the University Air Squadron. With the start of WW II just a few months later, as a member of the RAFVR he was called up and served in various postings with the RAF both in Canada and the U.K., leaving with the rank of Squadron Leader. He came to Manitoba in the winter of 1940 as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. He helped to set up the base at Carberry where he was stationed for three years, meeting his future wife, Barbara Yaeger, during this time. They were married in Brandon in 1941 and when Henry was recalled to England the family went too. Henry had decided that Calgary would be their peacetime home and it became so in 1947. He joined Dominion Bridge Co. Ltd as a production engineer and was with them for twelve years before leaving to set up his own firm of consulting structural engineers. His best known design project is the Calgary Tower, while he always felt that St. Mary’s Church in Red Deer was the toughest structural problem and the most satisfying. After the death of Barbara in 1981, Henry married Sigrid Hagemann and they have had a long and happy life together. His love of squash and tennis has been life long and it was a sad day when he finally had to stop playing at the age of eighty-seven. A talented cabinetmaker, there were always projects on the go and there are many cherished items scattered throughout the family. He leaves to mourn his wife Siggy, children Salli Dyson, Michael, Susan Laudenklos (Fred), and Peter (Shelagh); eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, as well as stepchildren Marianne Jauniaux (Paul) and Andre Jauniaux (Nicole) and their families. He was predeceased by his first wife Barbara, son in law Paul Dyson and grandson Kurt Laudenklos. A Celebration of Henry’s life will be held at McINNIS & HOLLOWAY’S Park Memorial Chapel (5008 Elbow Drive S.W.) on Thursday, July 15, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. Forward condolences through www.mcinnisandholloway.com. In living memory of Henry Ricketts, a tree will be planted at Fish Creek Provincial Park by McINNIS & HOLLOWAY FUNERAL HOMES Park Memorial Chapel, 5008 ELBOW DRIVE S.W. Telephone: (403) 243-8200.