Obituary of Mr. Ian Austin Ray Millar
Ian Austin Ray Millar
September 15, 1983 – October 10, 2024
Ian’s adventure in life began at Scarborough General Hospital on September 15, 1983. It wasn’t long before his life journey took him to Bermuda. His earliest recollections included visits to Horseshoe Bay where he had an early and unfortunate encounter with a jellyfish, but also grew to love going to church sitting with ‘Aunt Cheryl’. Edmonton, Alberta was Ian’s next life stop, where he experienced his first real taste of a prairie winter, and where he learned to skate. He loved spending his summers at Pine Lake Camp, where he learned to swim. The next move in life was to Toronto for six years until he and his family moved to Brisbane Australia for three years, a time that Ian considered a highlight. At age 15, Ian and family moved back to Toronto, where he spent most of the remainder of his days.
Ian was naturally adventurous and fearless. Without thought or nervousness, he ran down the steep slope of Ayers Rock, while amazed tourists looked on, and his nervous mother held her breath. He sat with legs dangling over edge of King’s Canyon, climbed the highest section of the Devil’s Marbles, water rafted rapids in Australia, and more recently, parasailed over the lakes of the Okanogan in BC.
Ian was naturally athletic. He learned to swim without effort, was an avid skater, water-skied at his cousin’s cottage on the first try, and played on a championship soccer team in Brisbane. But his first love was skateboarding. He would spend hours at the skateboard parks wherever he lived and in recent days, you could see him speeding around on his electric skateboard.
He was naturally musical. Early in life, he learned to play the cornet quite well, but really wanted to learn drums, which he played in the Brisbane City Temple YP Band, the 614 worship team, and a short stint in a cross Canada tour with a rock band. While in Australia, he learned to play the didgeridoo, an aboriginal instrument from the outback of Australia which requires circular breathing. He became so proficient that he won a music competition at his high school playing both the didgeridoo and his drums at the same time! The authentic hand-crafted digeridoo purchased from a craftsman in Alice Springs, Australia that was given to him on his 14th birthday remained one of his most treasured possessions for his entire life.
Ian loved to cook and was really good at it. He would concoct meals out of whatever was on hand without a recipe, and it was delicious. His fried mushrooms was a real specialty.
In his early twenties, Ian was diagnosed with a serious mental illness that made life difficult for him at times. Through it all, he showed courage as he battled his symptoms, with the help of treatment and support of Good Shepherd, where he lived. Despite these struggles, he never allowed his illness to conquer him and continued to demonstrate the wonderful qualities that defined who he really was.
He was naturally kind and generous. For a few years at Christmas time, he would prepare a full Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, for his friends at Good Shepherd who did not have family around them. He had a great sense of humour. It was not unusual for Ian to keep family members in stitches at the dinner table though his impressions, accents, and word mix-ups. He was humble and did not ask for much out of life – a minimalist who was happy with what he had. His one exception is that he loved to buy clothes.
He loved the outdoors. His favorite place was the family trailer at Jackson’s Point where he spent much of the last weeks of his life.
Most of all he deeply loved his family. Whether fishing with his nephews Sean and Jaxson, or making sand turtles on the beach with his niece Jessie, or golfing and going to movies with his dad, or playing phase 10 with his Mom, or hanging out with his precious sister Amy, or special events like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and birthdays, family times were always precious to him.
He is desperately missed by his dad and mom, Ron and Donna Millar, his sister Amy Wilson, his nephews Sean and Jaxson, and his niece Jessie, as well as Uncle Dale and Aunt Linda Millar, Aunt Susan Jones and Aunt Daphne Bryga, and cousins who loved him so very much, as well as his many friends from around the world who also miss him.
