Edwin Morton BSc CEng MIET PEng, May 1951 – April 2020
Published: Wed 6 May 2020
It is with great regret that the Ottawa Local Network has to announce the untimely death on Friday 17 April 2020, at the age of 68, of our friend and colleague Edwin Morton. Edwin was born in London, UK, on 26 May 1951, grew up in the UK, obtained his BSc at the University of Kent and joined the IEE as a student member in 1973. In his career as an electrical engineer, he worked in Telecommunications, Public Safety, Life Safety and the Security industries. His employers included: British Telecom; Bell Canada; Senstar; Crosskeys Systems; EADS; March Networks; Chubb Edwards; and Correctional Service Canada.
In 1975 he emigrated to Canada where he spent the rest of his career working in the Ottawa area. He joined the Ottawa Branch of the IEE in 1980 where he served in a number of capacities including Branch Chair and Vice Chair. He was one of our most active members, always willing to pitch in with ideas and help and he will always be remembered for his penetrating witty remarks and repartee, which he seemed to have in unlimited supply. His 1990s’ vision for an IEE North America Forum which could coordinate IEE, later IET, members’ ideas and needs to IET HQ eventually happened with the establishment of the Americas Regional Board, now the Communities Committee Americas, a model that was followed by other regions of the world.
In 2011, he was elected for two terms to the IET Council, serving as chair in 2013-14. During this period, he was a major contributor to the new IET governance model which established a clearer role for Council, and, particularly, for Councillors to be involved in decision-making through membership of the IET’s Main Boards. This was, to some, a controversial change, which required his diplomatic skills to bring together all voices, and to make the “one team” concept work, with members and staff working together for the greater good of the profession and the Institution. He successfully delivered the new relationship between Council and the Board of Trustees. He was a member of the implementation and monitoring groups (Monitoring Governance Working Party and Governance for the Future (G4F) Review Group) ensuring that the new ways of working achieved their objectives.
As IET Past President, Barry Brooks reflects: “Edwin was a stalwart member of our Institution, a strong advocate for encouraging STEM amongst the next generation, for the importance of professionalism and the role that the IET plays in the world. Edwin was a calm and logical negotiator who saw the benefit of a collaborative approach in bringing about change. As a fellow volunteer, I enjoyed working with him in the IET, and was grateful for his hospitality when my wife and I visited Ottawa and Toronto in 2014. As a friend, we remained in touch until earlier this month. I regret that I did not realise how much he was suffering from the chronic hip pain. I will miss him.”
We extend our deepest sympathies to his partner, Susan Leclerc, and his three children, Natasha, Sean and Tanya. We have lost a great member and they have lost a loving father and partner.
If you would like to contribute a message to the virtual book of condolence, please email communications@theiet.org.