COLIN AUSTIN BILLOWES. DFH. P. Eng, C.Eng/UK), FIEE, FIET 

Colin passed away peacefully in Ottawa, Ontario Canada on January 14th, 2022 at the age of 86. 

Colin was born in Malta of British parents and educated in the UK at the Portsmouth Grammar School. He spent some years in Kenya and Bahrain as a young man after which he returned to the UK in 1961 to study Electrical Engineering. He came to Canada in 1966 where he carved out a career in Telecommunications. He held positions with Bell Northern Research (BNR). the Dept of Communications and finally with Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) as Director of the Telecoms and High Technology Program.

He travelled extensively in his life, both for work and pleasure, visiting a total of 114 countries. He was very active in the local branch of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (formerly the Inst. of Electrical Engineers) where he served on the Ottawa Executive Committee for over 50 years, a record. He served for 8 years on the London-based IET Council. 

He was a classic car enthusiast and owned a classic ALFA Romeo and a Rolls Royce. He was an active member of both of those clubs. After retiring, he spent his winters in Florida and volunteered at the Collier Motor Museum where he conducted tours and research on the collection of cars. 

He spent a very active life right up to the end and will be missed by his family and many friends all over the world. 

He leaves a son Paul, a daughter Finola Francis, and granddaughters Nora and Bridget, all of whom he loved dearly.