Ian Norman Binns

Binns, Ian Norman

Early Life: Ian was born in Canterbury, England, in April 1947 to Stanley and Phyllis (nee Turner) Binns. He was the third out of four children born to Stanley and Phyllis. Their firstborn Terry died in infancy. Ian grew up with his older brother John and his younger brother Paul. Life in England post war was very difficult. Jobs were scarce and basic food items were rationed. Ian contracted Polio at the age of five and he spent the next two years of his life in hospital. His father also contracted Polio, but the effects on adults weren’t as severe. Ian remembered his father coming to visit him once a week by train. When he returned home the devastating effects of Polio had left him permanently disabled. In time he learned to walk again with the aid of a leg brace. In May 1957, at the age of ten, his family immigrated to Toronto, Canada to find work and better living conditions.

Career: In the early 70’s Ian completed his education at York University and Teachers College. He accepted a teaching position at Ridley College in St.Catharines. Later he chose to enter the field of accounting and became a tax consultant. For many years he enjoyed working at Tax Partners in Newmarket until his retirement in 2014.

Family: In 1975, Ian married the love of his life, Cathy (nee Cartmer) and together they had three children Heidi, Andrew and Robert. They were married for forty five years. During their marriage they moved several times throughout Southern Ontario. Ian enjoyed travelling with his family taking them on camping trips and to warm sunny destinations near the ocean. He enjoyed spending time in the kitchen cooking up all sorts of gourmet food. He would often enlist the help of his children as his “sous chefs”. They enjoyed having friends over for card parties, gourmet dinner nights and other social gatherings. Their house was always warm and bustling with activity.

Interests: Ian had a passion for listening to music, especially classical, guitar and symphonies. Over the years he ended up with a rather large record and cd collection. He also had a passion for photography. Not only did he enjoy taking pictures himself, but he looked forward to receiving his monthly issue of National Geographic, which incidentally also turned out to be a rather large collection. He enjoyed watching The Three Stooges and laughed at their slapstick comedy. Ian was an avid reader of either fiction or non-fiction material. He enjoyed sharing some of the interesting things he had learned with others.

Personality: One of the most notable things about Ian was his sense of humour. He loved to laugh and socialize with others. He loved telling jokes and sharing funny stories. It was so easy to spend hours talking with him, because he was a natural story teller and he had a vast lifetime of experiences and wisdom to share. Ian was also known for being generous, hospitable and kind hearted. He was very determined to not allow his many health issues to slow him down along the way.

Travel: Travelling was a big highlight of his life. Whenever possible, Cathy and Ian would make plans to travel to some place warmer. They travelled all over Florida and the Caribbean. They even travelled as far as Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand. Although they enjoyed their vacations together, they also shared wonderful vacations with family and friends over the years. One of Ian’s favourite things to do on vacation was to find a good beach-front seafood restaurant. He also enjoyed spending time working on his tan while polishing off a new Grisham novel.

Spirituality: Ian was a very spiritual person and he contemplated on many issues. He loved reading and studying the Bible. He made a choice to be baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses at the age of twelve. He spent many years as an elder in various congregations. He found great comfort in God’s promise to restore a paradise to the Earth and bring about a world with no sickness, pain or death. (Rev. 21:3, 4) He also put faith in Jesus promise of a resurrection of the dead. (John 5:28, 29) The Bible defines faith as “the assured expectation of what is hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities that are not seen.” (Heb. 11:1) Ian had strong faith in his God Jehovah and is now safely in God’s memory. Imagine all the wonderful things he will do after he is resurrected with a perfect healthy body!