Obituary of James (Bryan) Mercer

February 21, 1940 – Regina, Saskatchewan 
September 30, 2021 – Calgary, Alberta

Bryan Mercer of Calgary, AB, passed away on Thursday, September 30, 2021, at the age of 81 years.

Bryan was the beloved husband of Diane Coleman, cherished father of Larissa (Archie Haramis) of Melbourne, Australia, and David Mercer (Nikki Lane) of Calgary; step-father of Robin Thompson (Dexter Craig) of Calgary; and devoted grandfather of Caelan, Athan, Noah, Maya and Fiona. 

Recently he was thrilled to have made connections with his birth family, through his half-brother John Teskey (Victoria), half-sister Karen Larkin (Tucson) and half-cousin Donald Levene (Dallas). 

Born in Regina, SK, he was adopted by Edith (Mike) and James Mercer and moved to an acreage south of Calgary as a baby. He completed his B.Sc. in Physics in 1962 at the University of Alberta, and then a PhD in Astrophysics in 1967 at the University of Calgary. He married Linda Vickerson and they moved to the University of Bologna in Italy for a PostDoc research period, which included time in Iran, and then off to the University of Leeds for additional cosmology research as a Research Fellow. While there, their children Larissa and David were born, and they travelled extensively. Eventually returning to Calgary, Bryan joined Dome Petroleum and set up their arctic remote sensing program; his field work gave him lots of stories to tell. In 1984 he moved to Intermap Technologies, where he spent the next twenty-seven years as Chief Scientist, developing radar and lidar mapping technologies. During this time, project work and conferences took him across Southeast Asia, Latin America, the United States, Europe, Russia, Australia, Africa and Canada, giving him the opportunity to develop many longtime friendships. He was a respected contributor to the scientific community through committees and other opportunities. When he retired from Intermap in 2011, he decided to work to better the world for his grandchildren and joined Terrestrial Energy Inc. to support the development of nuclear technology for small modular reactors. He was still working when he died—as ever the consummate scientist. 

Bryan was the eternal optimist, full of energy and the drive to learn new things. He loved to read, ski, play tennis, and ride his trusty Apollo 10-speed. He felt at home in the mountains and loved to hike and cross country ski.  He stayed many times at Emerald Lake Lodge, his favorite spot in the Rockies. He was fiercely loyal to all of his friends, and enjoyed nothing more than to share time with his children and grandchildren. He had a dog almost all of his life, relishing their playfulness and loyalty. He loved to share a drink of good Scotch, or even savour it on his own at the end of an evening. But most of all, he loved jazz and his saxophone, to which he came rather late in life. Some of his best times were playing with his Downstairs Band, rehearsing and entertaining others. Covid unfortunately curtailed the performances. 

Condolences, memories and photos can also be shared and viewed here. If friends so desire, memorial tributes may be made directly to BREATHE:The Canadian Lung Association: 885 Meadowlands Dr., Suite 502, Ottawa ON, K2C 3N2 Telephone: (613) 569-641, https://www.lung.ca/, Or to Médicins sans Frontières (MSF), https://www.msf.org/donate.  

The family extends their sincere appreciation to Dr. Kerri Johannsen for her IPF supervision, and to the Rockyview Hospital staff in Units 93 and 94 for their compassionate care. 

In living memory of James Mercer, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes, Park Memorial, 5008 Elbow Drive SW, Calgary, AB T2S 2L5, Telephone: 403-243-8200.