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My younger brother, Lloyd Buchanan, passed away on December 27, 2021 in Calgary.
Please see his Obituary. Below is what amounts to a tribute to Lloyd, with an emphasis on his early life. Please feel free to email me with additions or corrections to anything you see here. |
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William "Lloyd" Buchanan was born July 9, 1954 at Trenton Memorial Hospital, the third child of Charles and Mary Buchanan. His trip home was delayed for a few days by surgery to repair a hernia condition. Dad told us that mom was upset that her baby came home with "a smile across his tummy." Soon the baby was thriving on whole milk which was abundant on the farm. Lloyd already had two older siblings in sister Mary Lou (1950) and brother Dan (1951), with Ruth Anne coming along in 1958.
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Charles Buchanan and Mary Ames had been married in 1949 and moved into the century-old farm house just north of the village of Codrington. At the same time, Mary's parents, Lloyd and Louise Ames, who had owned the farm where Mary grew up, moved to a house in the village. Through the next two decades, these two couples would worked together in partnership to raise the family and operate the farm.
Lloyd grew up on a very productive mixed-dairy-beef farm which covered 350 acres. It was divided into two distinct parts, joined by only a few yards of split-rail fence. There was the 200 acres of pasture land and woodlot to the northwest and about 150 acres of arable land and homestead straddling No. 30 Highway just north of Codrington.
This picture of our farm was taken in 1955 when Charles Buchanan took his camera on a flight in a small airplane owned by a friend. He took some wonderful pictures of Codrington, Orland and the Brighton area.
Lloyd grew up on a very productive mixed-dairy-beef farm which covered 350 acres. It was divided into two distinct parts, joined by only a few yards of split-rail fence. There was the 200 acres of pasture land and woodlot to the northwest and about 150 acres of arable land and homestead straddling No. 30 Highway just north of Codrington.
This picture of our farm was taken in 1955 when Charles Buchanan took his camera on a flight in a small airplane owned by a friend. He took some wonderful pictures of Codrington, Orland and the Brighton area.
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In spite of his rocky start, young Lloyd developed an out-sized appetite that saw him grow and prosper. He was an active, happy kid who learned to cope with dogs and cats as well as siblings.
We were really lucky to have grandparents living very close by, so we lacked nothing in the area of support and affection. On the right is one of my favorite pictures from those very early days. It shows the baby, Lloyd, in the buggy, with Mary Lou and Dan standing behind. Charles Buchanan took on the hobby of photography and, as a result, we have a wonderful record of life on the farm. Dad experimented photographically with all sorts of things besides the kids, including flowers, animals and the normal fascinating images of ice on tree branches and sun through a corn field. Of course, it also meant that his camera was ready when he and grandfather uncovered the memorial of notorious murderer William Henry King at the corner of the house, an event that would be a great boon to me as a historian many decades later. |
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Lloyd began to attend public school in the fall of 1960 at Codrington Public School which was located conveniently at the south side of the village. In the early 1960s, the traditional single-room public schools were giving way to larger regional schools and Brighton Township was no exception. Charles Buchanan was on the school board for our area which included the schools at Codrington, Orland, Mount Olivet as well as Holland School to the east of Codrington. Lloyd would attend the school at Codrington for grades one to three, then Mount Olivet for grade four and Holland school for grades five and six.
Below are pictures of Codrington Public School. On the left is a photo taken around 1905 which shows the most recent addition of a new bell on top, but also shows the old wooden front stoop which would be replaced by a large cement stoop in 1909. On the right is the same building in recent days, as a private residence. The building was gutted by fire in the early 1990s, leaving only the solid brick walls. It was then rebuilt with all the current facilities and is now a comfortable modern home.
Below are pictures of Codrington Public School. On the left is a photo taken around 1905 which shows the most recent addition of a new bell on top, but also shows the old wooden front stoop which would be replaced by a large cement stoop in 1909. On the right is the same building in recent days, as a private residence. The building was gutted by fire in the early 1990s, leaving only the solid brick walls. It was then rebuilt with all the current facilities and is now a comfortable modern home.
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The four Buchanan kids were lucky to grow up in a household where reading was as common as breathing. Weekly Saturday trips to the Warkworth Public Library kept us all supplied with adventures and engagement. What we were doing at school was talked about at the dinner table and beyond, and the classics were read to us by dad after supper on winter nights as we all did our own chores within ear-shot. Lloyd and I raced off the school bus to see who would be first to the Post Office on the day that the National Geographic was likely to be sitting in box 32, ready for us to devour. It was an environment of learning that shaped all of us into our adult lives.
In the summer of 1962, when Lloyd was only eight, he and the family experienced an extremely unusual phenomenon. One of our cows gave birth to a two-headed calf! These rare events usually end with the quick death of the calf, but this one lived for more than a week.
It created quite a sensation. Newspaper reporters did articles and took pictures. For several days, we had a stream of visitors who came to see the sight. Lloyd and I were in the middle of all this, greeting visitors and selling pictures that a local photographer had taken.
Here is Lloyd holding up the calf's head for a picture.
It created quite a sensation. Newspaper reporters did articles and took pictures. For several days, we had a stream of visitors who came to see the sight. Lloyd and I were in the middle of all this, greeting visitors and selling pictures that a local photographer had taken.
Here is Lloyd holding up the calf's head for a picture.
In September of 1966, Lloyd walked down our driveway and boarded a different school bus, this one headed down No. 30 to the new multi-room Spring Valley Public School (see the picture below). The one-room schools had been closed and this new facility would provide much better opportunities for students to excel in both academics and athletics. By this time, Lloyd had established himself as a leader in both areas, and that was confirmed by an award at the end of grade eight for "sportsmanship and scholarship". He was now ready for high school.
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Tragedy struck the family when Mary, Lloyd's mother, was diagnosed with breast cancer in September of 1967 and died on December 4th. This was a terrible loss for the family and the community, leaving a gaping void that would be impossible to fill. The four children were all impacted severely, each dealing with it in their own way. Lloyd would find a sympathetic ear and kind support from Marjorie Morgan, who had been a dear friend of Mary Ames. She was a great help for him through this sad time.
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Lloyd was growing up on a very busy farm and he took part in chores like all of us. As circumstances evolved, we needed to practice a division of labor that was based on what my allergies could tolerate. Both dad and Lloyd seemed to be able to breath dirt with no trouble, but my hay fever made it impossible for me to do things like harvesting grain, straw or hay. For example, Lloyd is shown below during straw harvest at the front of the wagon, with dad manning the blower. In winter, I would wash the milking machines while Lloyd and dad spread around the hay and straw. In the end, all the work got done and the farm prospered.
High school was an exciting prospect for Lloyd as he walked into the doors of East Northumberland Secondary School in Brighton early in September of 1968. While math was always his focus, he also used his experience in cross-country running to join the Harrier Team. The 1968/9 E.N.S.S. Harrier Team was the best in the school's history and Lloyd played a role in the Midget Division, placing 5th and 9th in major meets. Here is the Harrier Team picture in the year book, "Nulli Secundus" for 1969. Lloyd is at the left end of the middle row.
Oh yes, he also finished Grade 9 as an Honour Student, as shown in the l970 year book.
Oh yes, he also finished Grade 9 as an Honour Student, as shown in the l970 year book.
With all of this activity going on in Grade 9, Lloyd focused very much on his favorite subject, mathematics. High school math text books did not keep him engaged for very long and he constantly lobbied teachers for access to volumes from university. At the same time, he began the annual process of entering the Ontario Junior Mathematics Contest sponsored by the University of Waterloo. He finishing 5th in Ontario in Grade 9.
Then Lloyd embarked on one of the most amazing episodes of his high school years. A newspaper reporter explained the genesis of the situation like this: “Last spring while in Grade IX at the East Northumberland Secondary School in Brighton, Lloyd, who admits he became bored with the run-of-the-mill text book problems, was given an “enrichment problem” which he solved in no time at all. But, being inquisitive, he decided to see if the sample problem could be expressed in general terms and then make it work for any given set of conditions.”
Then Lloyd embarked on one of the most amazing episodes of his high school years. A newspaper reporter explained the genesis of the situation like this: “Last spring while in Grade IX at the East Northumberland Secondary School in Brighton, Lloyd, who admits he became bored with the run-of-the-mill text book problems, was given an “enrichment problem” which he solved in no time at all. But, being inquisitive, he decided to see if the sample problem could be expressed in general terms and then make it work for any given set of conditions.”
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However, there was a problem. The news article stated it this way. "He came up with the general equation and then proceeded to substitute other quantities than given in the original problem to prove that it worked. It seemed to work fine until, oddly enough, he had proved that 4 could be made to equal 2." For a mathematician, this was not good.
The problem continued as Lloyd entered Grade 10, where his math teacher was Mr. Jack Coles (right). The news article continues to explain Lloyd's approach to the problem, "Surely, he thought, he had made some mistake and spent hours and days trying to find out how and why. At last, thoroughly befuddled, he took the interesting computations to his mathematics teacher Jack Coles. He too was stumped but was quick to admit it. |
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Mr. Coles recommended that they send a report about Lloyd's math problem to "one of the world’s top 10 mathematicians, Professor W. W. Sawyer of the University of Toronto College of Education." After a long wait, Professor Sawyer responded in a rather non-committal way, saying that “in the realm of the infinite, the unexpected quite often happens.” This was not enough for Lloyd and his teacher, so Mr. Coles arranged to have an article printed in a teacher trade publication. Eventually, the result was that Professor Sawyer took a second look at the problem and provided a much more satisfactory explanation for what Lloyd had uncovered. A meeting with Professor Sawyer was arranged in Toronto and the newspaper article I quote from was printed around the same time. Needless to say, this episode enhanced the reputation of the budding mathematician at E.N.S.S.
Lloyd kept busy through Grade 10 with more success for the Harrier Team. A new activity came up at this time, of the musical type. The 1970 year book shows that he was in both Junior and Senior Bands that year. In the Senior Band picture, he is sixth from the left in the very back row. Lloyd playing what he called "the slip-slide trombone".
Pages of the 1971 year book for E.N.S.S. were provide to me by Ralph Buck, a friend of Lloyd's who was in the same year in high school. Lloyd was in Grade 11 that year and was again present in the Harrier Team picture as well as that of the larger Track and Field Team. The Senior Band photo shows Lloyd as one three fellows at the back with trombones. This was the first year for a Math Club picture in the year book (see below). There were six other members in the club, with Mr. Sharp as the supervising teacher. Needless to say, this would be the only club Lloyd would join in high school. Of course, he was also on the Honour Roll once more.
The 1972 year book shows Lloyd in the "Stage Band" as well as the Senior Band, again with his slip slide trombone. This band played at many different events around the community, some that the band members could not have attended due to their ages. It also shows that he received awards for Harrier at the Athletic Banquet for 1971. At the same event, his good friend, Simone Keizer received an award for track and field. These two would develop a relationship during their later high school years and compete head-to-head for top academic honors in the school.
In 1971, Lloyd was one of 38 top scorers in the Ontario Junior Mathematics Contest who were invited to Waterloo University for a week of orientation on campus. The group was accommodated in residences on campus and had a constant stream of events and activities set out for them. This was a tremendous opportunity for Lloyd to rub shoulders with other top math students and exchange war stories, as it were. At this point it seemed inevitable that Lloyd would go to university at Waterloo.
It was during the summers in this period from 1970 to 1972, that I recall driving Lloyd to Loyalist College in Belleville so that he could spend a few hours with the computer there. Leading up to these visits Lloyd would prepare a large pile of punch cards (we are talking the 1970s, folks) and, when I returned to pick him up, he would be lugging a big bundle of continuous form paper which contained the output of the process he had run. For the next few weeks, the bedroom we shared would be littered with this paper, some of it hung on the walls and some stretched out on the floor with the mathematician bending over it with a pencil and notepad.
I will let the newspaper reporter explain it his way. "On the wall of Lloyd’s room is a six-foot sheet of graph paper upon which Lloyd has spent many hours plotting the curve that gives his unique phenomenon. The graph itself doesn’t really look too impressive until you get Lloyd talking on the subject and he produces a notebook crammed with computations to show how he has made and is extending his graph. Included in the notebook is a complete logarithm table that he copied out of a book he borrowed from school."
As January 1972 came around, it was time to apply to Waterloo University in anticipation of attending classes in the fall. This meant that he would skip Grade 13 altogether. His application was accepted and was accompanied by a $1,600 scholarship. A friend in Lloyd's home room class, Ralph Buck, recalls that, during the later months of Grade 12, Lloyd participated in most of his classes like the other kids, but he did his own thing in math classes since he was so far ahead.
Lloyd began attending classes at Waterloo University in the fall of 1972, while living in residence. He loved attending rock concerts and was excited to stand in a very long line for tickets to "Yes" who played at the university. However, for the most part, it was work, work and more work.
After completing the first two semesters at Waterloo, Lloyd worked on construction during the summer of 1973 with Mona's father and brother. In September he moved into a less expensive boarding house near the university and went back to work. He finished the next two semesters in the spring of 1974. After four intense semesters, Lloyd felt tired and overwhelmed with information. We might use the term "burned out" but I am not sure that is correct. In any case, he had the common sense to take a year off from university, from the middle of 1974 to the middle of 1975. I visited him a couple of times in his small apartment upstairs in a house in north Toronto owned by Mona's aunt and uncle.
Lloyd explained to me that he was working as a forklift driver at the Johnson & Johnson warehouse in North York, and was undertaking a deliberate campaign to review and solidify the information he had taken in over the last two years. He needed to be certain that he thoroughly understood important theories and concepts and the only way to do that was to take time to run through exercises that demonstrated his mastery of the material. He spent most of his time outside of forklift driving at the small kitchen table in the apartment, pencil sharpener close at hand. In effect, Lloyd was preparing his brain for the next slug of work. Sure enough, the last two semesters were completed from fall 1975 to spring 1976.
I will let the newspaper reporter explain it his way. "On the wall of Lloyd’s room is a six-foot sheet of graph paper upon which Lloyd has spent many hours plotting the curve that gives his unique phenomenon. The graph itself doesn’t really look too impressive until you get Lloyd talking on the subject and he produces a notebook crammed with computations to show how he has made and is extending his graph. Included in the notebook is a complete logarithm table that he copied out of a book he borrowed from school."
As January 1972 came around, it was time to apply to Waterloo University in anticipation of attending classes in the fall. This meant that he would skip Grade 13 altogether. His application was accepted and was accompanied by a $1,600 scholarship. A friend in Lloyd's home room class, Ralph Buck, recalls that, during the later months of Grade 12, Lloyd participated in most of his classes like the other kids, but he did his own thing in math classes since he was so far ahead.
Lloyd began attending classes at Waterloo University in the fall of 1972, while living in residence. He loved attending rock concerts and was excited to stand in a very long line for tickets to "Yes" who played at the university. However, for the most part, it was work, work and more work.
After completing the first two semesters at Waterloo, Lloyd worked on construction during the summer of 1973 with Mona's father and brother. In September he moved into a less expensive boarding house near the university and went back to work. He finished the next two semesters in the spring of 1974. After four intense semesters, Lloyd felt tired and overwhelmed with information. We might use the term "burned out" but I am not sure that is correct. In any case, he had the common sense to take a year off from university, from the middle of 1974 to the middle of 1975. I visited him a couple of times in his small apartment upstairs in a house in north Toronto owned by Mona's aunt and uncle.
Lloyd explained to me that he was working as a forklift driver at the Johnson & Johnson warehouse in North York, and was undertaking a deliberate campaign to review and solidify the information he had taken in over the last two years. He needed to be certain that he thoroughly understood important theories and concepts and the only way to do that was to take time to run through exercises that demonstrated his mastery of the material. He spent most of his time outside of forklift driving at the small kitchen table in the apartment, pencil sharpener close at hand. In effect, Lloyd was preparing his brain for the next slug of work. Sure enough, the last two semesters were completed from fall 1975 to spring 1976.
Lloyd Buchanan and Simone "Mona" Keizer were married on August 16, 1975 at the Ebenezer Christian Reformed Church in Trenton, with the reception held at the Masonic Lodge in Brighton. We all went back to the the Keizer home near Trenton for some fun times.
That summer, Lloyd worked in construction in Kitchener with enough time for the newlywed couple to take a month-long trip across country in the beige Nova dad had bought for the boys.
That summer, Lloyd worked in construction in Kitchener with enough time for the newlywed couple to take a month-long trip across country in the beige Nova dad had bought for the boys.
Here is what Mona told me about the next two years. "He’d already been accepted into grad studies at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies on a prestigious Connaught Scholarship. For two full years, we lived in North York and he would bike to the research facilities near York University while I took the subway downtown to my grad studies in Museology/History at UofT/ROM downtown. His work was in gas dynamics and shock wave theory."
My recollections of this time are of Lloyd explaining that research was a process and not an event. One generation of researchers work with the results of the previous generation and pass their results on to the next, and so on. Any result, however small, was legitimate grist for the mill, so to speak. An added benefit of Lloyd's situation was that he and Mona were able to socialize with scientists from around the world who would become well-known in various fields through their careers. In any case, it was science and math in action, which fully engaged this budding scientist.
My recollections of this time are of Lloyd explaining that research was a process and not an event. One generation of researchers work with the results of the previous generation and pass their results on to the next, and so on. Any result, however small, was legitimate grist for the mill, so to speak. An added benefit of Lloyd's situation was that he and Mona were able to socialize with scientists from around the world who would become well-known in various fields through their careers. In any case, it was science and math in action, which fully engaged this budding scientist.
Lloyd graduated from Waterloo University in May 1977. An Associate Dean at Waterloo recently emailed to me that Lloyd finished "with an 86.1% average in Honours Applied Mathematics with a Physics Option. That would indicate a strong interest in how mathematics interacts with the natural world: how water flows, how electricity travels down a wire, etc."
No kidding!
No kidding!
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Lloyd moved to Calgary in 1979 where he immediately began working at Computer Modelling Group, Ltd. (CMG). Mona had come to Calgary a few months earlier and they both began their careers. However, over the next several years, they would grow apart, and finally divorced.
Soon after moving to Calgary, Lloyd began hiking and even took a rock climbing course, as indicated here. Look closely and you can see Lloyd working his way up the rock face. |
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Lloyd landed his dream job on the first try. He was one of a small group of early employees of CMG and he would stay for the rest of his career. The "About" section on their web site at https://www.cmgl.ca/ says "CMG began in 1978 as a small research company based in Calgary, Canada. Quickly, CMG became known for its expertise in heavy oil, and has expanded this knowledge into all aspects of reservoir flow and advanced processes modelling."
After many discussions with Lloyd about his work, I think I began to understand what CMG does and what Lloyd did for them.
CMG produces software systems that perform reservoir modelling. Massive amounts of data about the geology and chemistry of the field are the input and the result is that they can see the oil field in 3-D and manipulate it as needed. Lloyd sometimes said it was almost like a video game, except far more complex - and real.
Lloyd helped build and maintain the software. I recall him mentioning "one million lines of Fortran code" in the early days, and it grew from there. Later, he was involved in the move to VisualBasic to make CMG's systems available at a much lower cost on the exploding marketplace of high-speed computers. The products went through many changes, and Lloyd was in the middle of it all.
Lloyd became a trainer and teacher of CMG's systems and took several trips to far-flung places around the world where oil companies were installing the product. There were trips to China and Indonesia, and at one point he gave a paper in Germany during a family holiday to Europe. Lloyd said, when asked about the language issue, that all scientists speak English, so not a problem. He was also the project leader for enhancing and updating the software, as well as fixing anomalies that came to the surface. In this last situation, Lloyd was particularly adept.
Over the years, I have tried to develop a way to understand how Lloyd's brain worked differently than most folks. From math problems in school text books to troubleshooting massive collections of software code, Lloyd demonstrated what I call the ability to think in parallel. Most of us think in serial mode, one discreet item at a time. Lloyd, and others of similar capacity, can process multiple streams of information and connect them effectively to come out with the solution to a complex problem. Take it one step out into the virtual realm of software code which allows us to represent real things, and you get some idea of the scope and scale of the thought process. It staggers the mind. It was the perfect job for a born scientist.
After many discussions with Lloyd about his work, I think I began to understand what CMG does and what Lloyd did for them.
CMG produces software systems that perform reservoir modelling. Massive amounts of data about the geology and chemistry of the field are the input and the result is that they can see the oil field in 3-D and manipulate it as needed. Lloyd sometimes said it was almost like a video game, except far more complex - and real.
Lloyd helped build and maintain the software. I recall him mentioning "one million lines of Fortran code" in the early days, and it grew from there. Later, he was involved in the move to VisualBasic to make CMG's systems available at a much lower cost on the exploding marketplace of high-speed computers. The products went through many changes, and Lloyd was in the middle of it all.
Lloyd became a trainer and teacher of CMG's systems and took several trips to far-flung places around the world where oil companies were installing the product. There were trips to China and Indonesia, and at one point he gave a paper in Germany during a family holiday to Europe. Lloyd said, when asked about the language issue, that all scientists speak English, so not a problem. He was also the project leader for enhancing and updating the software, as well as fixing anomalies that came to the surface. In this last situation, Lloyd was particularly adept.
Over the years, I have tried to develop a way to understand how Lloyd's brain worked differently than most folks. From math problems in school text books to troubleshooting massive collections of software code, Lloyd demonstrated what I call the ability to think in parallel. Most of us think in serial mode, one discreet item at a time. Lloyd, and others of similar capacity, can process multiple streams of information and connect them effectively to come out with the solution to a complex problem. Take it one step out into the virtual realm of software code which allows us to represent real things, and you get some idea of the scope and scale of the thought process. It staggers the mind. It was the perfect job for a born scientist.
A very nice family gathering occurred in the early 1980s at the home of younger sister, Ruth Anne and her husband Vince Boutelier in Okotoks, Alberta. They had purchased a home there and I recall we all pitched in to sod the yard.
This picture is one of my favorites from that event. All four of the Buchanan siblings were together for a day, after we had spread out across the country.
At the front, left is Mary Lou and right is Ruth Anne. At the back, far left, is Tom Parkinson, Mary Lou's husband, next is Dan, then Lloyd and Vince, Ruth's husband.
Good memories.
This picture is one of my favorites from that event. All four of the Buchanan siblings were together for a day, after we had spread out across the country.
At the front, left is Mary Lou and right is Ruth Anne. At the back, far left, is Tom Parkinson, Mary Lou's husband, next is Dan, then Lloyd and Vince, Ruth's husband.
Good memories.
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Lloyd made several trips back to Ontario to visit family and catch up with friends. One such visit was in 1983, when this picture was taken of Lloyd and his father, Rev. Charles Buchanan, who lived north of Belleville at that time.
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Lloyd loved hiking a lot, and went out into the mountains and foothills as often as he could. Living in Calgary, it was all at his doorstep. On the left is Lloyd, as he said "shivering at Waterton National Park" in 1987 and, a few years later, sweating on a snowy slope. I can tell you from experience that it was a challenge to keep up with Lloyd on a hiking trail.
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On one of those hiking trips, Lloyd met Michele Nowak, a speech pathologist from Wisconsin.
Lloyd Buchanan and Michele Nowak were married on April 22, 1989 at Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, and our family was well represented at the celebration. Lloyd and Michele would have two children, Amelia in 1991 and Victor in 1993. The family has a very nice home in north-west Calgary, where Lloyd was a quick bike ride to the CMG office. As a husband and father, Lloyd was attentive and engaged, always looking for ways to meet the needs of those he cared for most. |
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Lloyd dealt with automobiles like everything else, meticulously. Our dad had passed on the beige Nova, and by the time Lloyd and I took it to the Peace River area for a holiday in 1981, it was full of holes and begging to be put out of its misery. Lloyd hung on until he could pay cash for a Volvo, a 1983 model seen in the picture below left. His next vehicle was acquired in 2006, an Audi A4 Avant. His most important criteria was whether he could get his bike into the back without too much hassle.
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Bike riding was an activity that Lloyd loved all his life. On the farm as a teen, he worked his way through several bikes because he went on long trips, often in rough places. More than once, he walked the bike back home with flat tires. One time, dad bought us two identical GMC bikes. Within a few months, the back wheel on Lloyd's gave out and he started riding mine. He was not about to quit riding. It was fine with me since I was more interested in learning to drive at that time.
Lloyd's family followed along and bike rides made up a lot of family time as the kids were growing up. Here is a picture of Lloyd, Amelia and Victor showing off their new bikes.
Lloyd's family followed along and bike rides made up a lot of family time as the kids were growing up. Here is a picture of Lloyd, Amelia and Victor showing off their new bikes.
