With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of Douglas French, Professor Emeritus at the University of Waterloo, just one month shy of his 101st birthday. Born 10 September 1923 in East Croydon, Surrey, England, he passed away peacefully, as he wished, in the comfort of family and friends on 7th August 2024 at his home in Ocean Park, Surrey, BC. He is survived by his wife Joy, son Richard, grandchildren Nadine, Tracy and Andrew, and great grandchildren Devon and Jillian.
He was predeceased by his daughter Jill Staranowicz. Friends are welcome to attend a celebration of his life on 27 September, 1pm, at St Mark's Anglican Church in Ocean Park. Doug was a decorated WWII veteran of the RAF, an innovative thinker and professor who pioneered the use of computers in manufacturing, a bit of a mischief-maker, a loving husband, father, and grandfather, a faithful friend, and towards the end, a bad golfer.
He loved a single malt scotch, an earnest debate, and a good laugh. Most of all, he loved his wife, Joy, and their immediate and extended family in Canada, the US, and UK. He was accepted as an RAF aircraft apprentice at just 16 years old.
He excelled in the academic and technical exams, with rapid promotions in repairing instruments such as autopilots and bombsights. He was posted initially to airstrips in Durban and Karachi. By 19, Doug was responsible for RAF instrument maintenance for the whole of SE Asia and led a unit of 100 men.
Notably, he flew on the planes following the repairs, a requirement the RAF considered an essential motivator for quality work by his team. His overseas service included posts in India, Egypt, and Burma, promotion to Flight Sergeant, and captain of the RAF Suez Canal Hockey Team. Doug was transferred back to England and assigned as an Instrumentation and Control instructor.
He met his wife Joy on a weekend visit to his parent's guest house, where she was vacationing with her sister. It was love at first sight. They celebrated their 76th anniversary this past June.
He credited Joy with being an equal partner in life, enabling his academic and professional pursuits as well as his beautiful home and family life. He applied the same fearless leadership, technical savvy, comradery, and work ethic to his career and further education that had distinguished him in the service. He studied nights and weekends to earn advanced degrees from the University of London and University of Aston in Birmingham.
His initial engineering and design positions in airplane test equipment led to a teaching position at De Havilland Aircraft in Hatfield. He rapidly attained successive promotions as a college professor in England, pioneering analogue control of machine tools and later digital control of machine tools. The University of Waterloo enticed Doug and Joy to relocate to Canada to build the automation discipline within the Mechanical Engineering Department, literally from the ground up.
He made it a thriving success. In all, Doug wrote over 50 scientific papers and books, which he presented across the world to pioneer manufacturing modernization via the introduction of early computers. Consultancies and visiting professorships took them to Cuba, Australia, Jamaica, and the US.
Doug and Joy retired to White Rock when it was still a sleepy beach town that reminded them of England. He was a dedicated volunteer at St. Mark's Anglican parish and enjoyed travelling the world, caring for his grandchildren, painting landscapes, and golfing with friends.
He is deeply missed by all who knew him. A Celebration of Life service and reception will be held on Friday, 27 September at 1pm at St Mark's Anglican Church, 12953 20th Ave in Ocean Park. Friends are welcome to attend.
.
