Jacque Bennett

Jacque Bennett 1959 - 2021

Our brother Jacque Bennett passed away peacefully on May 13th 2021 at the St. Joseph’s Heath Center in Toronto with his 3 younger siblings at his side. He is preceded by our parents George Alfred Bennett and Claire Bennett (née Marchal).

Jacque was born in Dawson Creek, British Columbia in August 1959. Dawson Creek sits at southern end of the Alaska Highway and was still a frontier town in the late fifties. The Bennett family later settled in Pointe Claire, Quebec where we all spend our early and high school years.

Jacque attended Nothview Elementary School, then Lindsay Place High School and John Abbott Collage. During this time he was part of the Air Cadets where he taught ground school. He was also flying gliders in Hawkesbury were he obtaining his glider pilot license.

In 1981, Jacque graduated from McGill University with a degree in Electrical Engineering. His first job upon graduating was with Schlumberger Well Services working in and around Enid, Oklahoma. He worked providing oil well geological surveys which involved running devices, sometimes explosive and/or radioactive, down wells to produce surveys for their clients. He often spoke proudly of these early adventures and of his time spent with the often gruff oil platform workers.

In 1982, Jacque returned to Canada to start a job at Leigh Instruments in Carlton Place, Ontario. One of the projects he was deeply involved with was the NASA/FAA B720 Crash Test at the Dryden Flight Research Facility at Edwards Air Force Base. He was in-attendance for this test that involved intentionally crashing a remotely controlled four engine passenger jet liner in the desert in order to test and invest numerous features being developed to improve air passenger survivability. During this period he shared an apartment in Ottawa with his brother George where many good meals, bottles of French wine and fun times with friends were enjoyed.

In 1985, Jacque switched jobs and began what would be a 22 year career at Spar Aerospace, later called MDA, working first in Ottawa and then Toronto. During his time at Spar he worked on Canadarm 1 and Canadarm 2 as well as other systems for the US Space Shuttles and the International Space Station. He was involved in the Hubble Space Telescope and he was at the launch center in Huston Texas when Hubble was launch into space. It is possible to see Jacque’s work and efforts to this day by looking up at the night sky to see the International Space Station gliding by looking like a mischievous star.

His time at Spar also involved a lot of travel to and from the USA which started to take a toll on him. We have lost track of the long list flights, airports, hotels and companies involved. After a one and a half year assignment in Orange Country, California Jacque return to Canada and bought his house in the west side of Toronto, finding his base. He loved both his home and his neighborhood and remained at this house which came to reflect his style and passions until his passing. When not working he spent time fixing up his house, caring for his cats and undertaking a wide variety of pastimes. After Spar he continued to work in the aviation and space fields at various companies including ComDev, Safran and Lockheed Martin.

Jacque was the contented bachelor and had many passions including stamp and coin collecting, motorcycles, flying gliders, fine wines, music, home renovations, sailing, genealogy and connecting with distant family members, art and history. His greatest passion remained bicycling. Jacque was a lifelong learner reflected in continuing education and in a large and varied collection books, another of his prized processions.

Jacque is survived by his three younger siblings George, Nicole and John, sister-in-law Dina, brother-in-law Jacob and nephews Micah and Simon. His two cats, Cleo and Luna are now living in Hudson, Quebec enjoying the country life. Jacque will be sadly missed and fondly remembered.

There will not be a service in this time of Covid.

Donations can be made to the Melanoma Network of Canada , The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride or The Daily Bread Food Bank