april 2009 issue

Obituaries
Arthur Bernard FitzPatrick, P.Eng.
APEGGA Life Member

Arthur (Art) FitzPatrick, P.Eng., a pioneer in information systems and computer connectivity, died Feb. 25 of cancer-related complications. He was 82.

Mr. FitzPatrick grew up on a farm near Vulcan, where he learned to love the prairie landscape and honed his legendary expertise as a marksman, a bird hunter and a snooker player.

At the end of the Second World War he served in the Royal Canadian Navy.

With his service work completed, he returned to Alberta to conclude his formal education, obtaining a psychology degree at the University of Alberta. His interests in mathematics, chemistry, design and manufacture led him from production work at Robinson Machine and back to the university for his mechanical engineering and mathematical statistics degrees. Mr. FitzPatrick would later return to the U of A to teach a statistics-for-engineers course.

Mr. FitzPatrick will be remembered for writing and teaching the chemical technology program at SAIT, and for his long tenure at the Alberta Research Council. It was at ARC that he became known for his work in information systems and computer connectivity.

Mr. FitzPatrick was a co-author of the internationally recognized 1968 Gasoline Marketing Enquiry for the Province of Alberta. In 1984 he started FitzPatrick Engineering Limited, an engineering consulting and a scientific software company.

He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Dorothy, his son, Glen FitzPatrick, P.Eng., and his daughter-in-law, Elinor. Survivors will miss his “keen sense of humour, generosity, love, and patience and guidance,” says an obituary from the family.