Brian Douglas BORNHOLD

Brian Douglas Bornhold

With sadness we announce the passing of Brian Douglas Bornhold, age 72. Brian died peacefully at home with his partner Colleen Hawkey in Ladysmith BC on June 3rd 2018. He is survived by his daughter Beth Pechter (Dave) and son David (Nicola) their mother Penelope Catton, grandchildren Benjamin, Elliot, and Owen; his sister Linda Klym, niece Cheryl Edwards (Dale) and Sonja (Stutzke) Bornhold.

Brian Bornhold, B.Sc., M.A., Ph.D., ndc, P.Geo. was born in Kitchener, Ontario to Donald and Margaret Bornhold. His youth, with his sister Linda (Klym), was spent in Sherbrooke, Québec, Kirkland Lake and North York, Ontario before he left for the University of Waterloo where he became the first graduate in Earth Sciences in 1967. He acquired a Master’s degree in Geology from Duke University and a Ph.D. in 1973 from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.  

His first position was at the University of Toronto with the recognized Canadian geophysicist Dr. J. Tuzo Wilson before joining the Geological Survey of Canada in 1975. He spent a sabbatical year (1982-1983) at the Université de Perpignan, France working with a specialist on marine minerals. In 1990-1991 he was selected to attend the National Defence College (ndc) of Canada’s course on Canadian public policy with 43 other Canadian and international participants. In 1992-93, he became Director of the Canadian Global Change Program at the Royal Society of Canada in Ottawa. He returned to the Geological Survey of Canada until 1998.

After leaving the Geological Survey, he became business partner for 15 years with Dr. John Harper at Coastal and Ocean Resources Inc. He worked on a wide range of marine environmental and engineering projects. In 2004 Brian became co-chief scientist of the NEPTUNE Canada project, an innovative, deep-sea research initiative led by Dr. Chris Barnes. In 2012 he semi-retired but retained a professional involvement as a consultant in several large BC coastal projects. He continued to work with his colleagues Drs. Isaak Fain, Alexander Rabinovich and Evgueni Kulikov, as part of a company in which Brian was President, International Tsunami Research Inc., and with a long-time ocean science colleague and co-author of many research books and papers, Dr. Richard E. Thomson. Brian was chief scientist of the Ocean Drilling Project in Saanich Inlet, published approximately 125 scientific papers, three book chapters and edited special issues of scientific journals.

His non-professional activities included: music, as a trombonist and singer in Big Bands and jazz bands, and as a bass singer; amateur theatre; camping and canoeing; writing; and, international travel.  He wrote a 100-page book, “Early Music in Ladysmith British Columbia  1902-1912”, for the Ladysmith and District Historical Society.

In keeping with Brian’s wishes, there will be no memorial service.

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