october 2009 issue
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OBITUARIES
David Panar, P.Eng.
APEGGA Life Member
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An engineer, pilot, fast driver and boater, David Panar, P.Eng., passed away peacefully on July 9. He was 90.
Born in Saskatoon, Mr. Panar moved with his family many times during his childhood — Saskatchewan to Manitoba, then to Lamont and Vegreville in Alberta — before settling in Edmonton.
From a small child, Mr. Panar wanted to be an engineer. Early signs showed in 1930 in Lamont, where he constructed a motorized go-kart. Years later he attempted to build and run a motorized ice sled, powered by an engine modeled after the German V-1 Ram Jet rocket engine. This experiment almost burned down the old university ice rink.
In 1937 he enrolled in engineering at the University of Alberta, where he stayed for two years. Mechanical engineering was not offered at the U of A during his student years, so he persuaded his father to send him to the University of Michigan. He graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering, later returning to complete a master's in industrial engineering.
During the Second World War, with a background in aircraft engineering, he was selected to attend a course for the British Air Commission. He was sent on various training courses in a number of aircraft factories, including the Hawker Hurricane factory in Fort William.
A few years later, armed with extensive training and experience in aircraft manufacture and repair, Mr. Panar travelled to Israel and was a major factor in the successful reconstruction of the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.1X — known as the Black Spit — the first aircraft produced in Israel.
He returned to Alberta, met and married his first wife, Marion, and accepted a teaching position the U of A, Faculty of Engineering, where he remained a full professor for the next 25 years. During this time, Mr. Panar also developed his own consulting company and was an assistant to the Alberta Deputy Minister of Public Works.
As a consulting engineer, Mr. Panar was involved in many projects in the Edmonton area, including the Law Courts Building, the Citadel Theatre, the Muttart Conservatory and the LRT.
The larger community was also important to Mr. Panar. He was honorary president of the U of A Engineering Students’ Society, chairman of the Solar Energy Society of Edmonton, and general chairman of the National Solar Energy Conference. His hobbies included flying, boating, water skiing and fast driving. Since retiring, he settled down in Vancouver and remarried.
Mr. Panar's first wife, Marion, passed away in 1990. He is survived by his second wife, Bea, a daughter Arna, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Vancouver.