Dogs of Intelligence
- Chris Iwanowksi 1970-2009
4.may.09 - IWANOWSKI, Chris - 1970-2009 - Chris Iwanowski died in his home on May 4th after a brave two-year struggle with metastatic melanoma. Partner of Julia Grady, daddy to Alex and Anna, son of Walter and Bonnie Iwanowski, brother of Karl, Chris was an inspiring member of a wide circle of friends in Guelph. Born in Brantford in 1970, Chris grew up in London, Ontario, where he expressed his love of the outdoors and things mechanical. A gifted thinker and accomplished student, he studied urban planning at the University of Waterloo, graduating with a Bachelor of Environmental Science degree. After working for several years at conservation areas, he forged his own path in 1996 by launching the highly respected web development firm Barking Dog Studios with Julia and close friend, Dave Steele. Chris championed web sites that are intriguingly original and free of pretense, like him. Always appreciative of elegant design and technologies that add pleasure to life, he loved almost anything Apple (never PCs) and all things Westfalia. He and Julia drove their 1978 lime-green Volkswagen Westfalia Campmobile, Buddy, coast to coast. Underdog, a cherished 1970 Volkswagen Transporter, is being restored from the ground up. Chris left behind a wealth of warm memories and thousands of artfully evocative photographs that express his attentive, caring, and always slightly wacky eye on the world, which you can see for yourself at his flickr blog (http://www.flickr.com/photos/busman/). His fierce love and admiration for Julia was obvious to all. He once referred to her as his " mixed media artist, super-mom, catalyst for social change, pay-it-forward queen and co-conspirator". Chris was a big person in all the ways that matter. Ideas man, relentless innovator, humourist, photographer, nature lover, computing wizard, independent music aficionado, entrepreneur, creative force, amazingly nice guy, and champion of all things good, he was brave and selfless to the very end. In his death, as in his life, Chris proved that love beats fear. He will be missed by all who met him. Chris will be celebrated at a future event to be announced by his family. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to help build the Guelph Market Square skating rink, one of Chris's fond hopes. All donations will be aggregated in Chris's name. Please make cheques payable to City of Guelph - Ice Rink (Chris Fund) and mail to P.O. Box 1061, Guelph, Ontario. N1H 6N1. Arrangements entrusted to the WALL-CUSTANCE FUNERAL HOME & CHAPEL, 206 Norfolk St., Guelph, 519-822-0051 or www.wallcustance.com.
A tree will be planted in memory of Christopher A. Iwanowski in the Wall-Custance Memorial Forest, U of G, Arboretum. Dedication service September 20, 2009, 2:30 p.m.
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