GREGORY, Alan Frank “Al” Gregory

Passed away peacefully in Lindsay on June 19, 2025, at the age of 99. Born in Lindsay on March 26, 1926, Alan and his older brother Donald were raised by loving parents Marie (née Guillet) and Frank Gregory. Alan attended Alexandra Public School and Lindsay Collegiate Institute.

Despite the Great Depression significantly impacting the family’s economic prospects, Alan’s parents made sacrifices to enable their children to build a better life. Alan passed his Upper School Examinations with first-class honours and was accepted into Chemical Engineering at the University of Toronto. However, his increasing desire to focus on research led him to re-orient his studies to Geological Sciences. He excelled both academically (Coleman Gold Medal and Victoria College’s Regent’s Gold Medal in Geological Sciences) and athletically (Canadian indoor One Mile Open relay record), and was awarded a University Fellowship by the University of Wisconsin for graduate studies in Geology and Geophysics.

Alan’s career in geology took him to the remote forests of northern Saskatchewan, where he met and married Dorothy (née Lorraine) in Uranium City on September 16, 1953. Together, they lived and worked in Canada’s north, started a family, and completed a PhD. Alan joined the Geological Survey of Canada in Ottawa at age 31, where he became an important member of the team that created the Canadian Centre for Remote Sensing, advancing technologies now at the forefront of climate change research.

After retiring in 1990, Alan and Dorothy moved to Peterborough, engaging in genealogy and spending summers at Dorothy’s family cottage in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts. They also maintained close ties with their sons and their families in the United States (Gordon) and Belgium (Douglas). Pico Beach remains a family touchstone.

Pre-deceased by his beloved wife Dottie in 2015, Alan is survived by his children Gordon (Debra), Douglas (Shelley), and his three grandchildren Erin (Tyler), Emma, and Daniel (Irene), who were the lights of his life.

A celebration of life will be held at the Mackey Funeral Home, 33 Peel Street, Lindsay, Ontario, on September 16, 2025, from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, on what would have been Alan and Dorothy’s 73rd anniversary. Alan and Dorothy’s ashes will be interred in Riverside Cemetery.

The family requests that those who wish to express sympathy consider making a donation to the University of Toronto’s Victoria College. Online donations can be made [here].

Memories and notes of condolence may be shared at Mackey’s Funeral Home.