Richard Kenneth Guy, Sept 30th 1916 - Mar 9th 2020

Richard Kenneth Guy died on March 9, 2020, at the age of 103. Richard often said “I count myself as the luckiest person in the world. I was married to the best wife in the world for 70 years and I was paid for doing what I like doing.”

“I count myself as the luckiest person in the world. I was married to the best wife in the world for 70 years and I was paid for doing what I like doing.”

Richard was born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England. Both his parents were teachers and imparted their son with good principles, “They were always impeccably honest, straight forward and outspoken against anything that was not for the common good.”

Richard was sent to Warwick school, the third oldest school in Britain, where he was a bit of a prodigy, excelling in mathematics, physics and chemistry. When he was in the sixth form and making a choice on his academic path he decided to study mathematics.

At about 17 years of age, Richard bought a copy of Dickson’s History of the Theory of Numbers and was fascinated by the book. He remembered that “It was better than getting the whole works of Shakespeare and heaven knows what else.”

In 1935, having won three scholarships, Richard entered Cambridge University, where he was a student at Gonville and Caius College. Recently he admitted that he was not a good student: “I played 24 hours a day bridge, 24 hours chess and 24 hours snooker.” Richard graduated in 1938 with a second class honours degree.

Richard Meets Louise

Richard met his future wife, Nancy Louise Thirian, in 1937. She liked to dance and he liked to dance so they hit if off right away. In addition they both loved mountains. In the summer of 1939, they set off for a two week holiday in the Lake District of northeast England. Staying in Youth Hostels, which were segregated into men’s and women’s dorms, they hiked the paths and reached numerous mountain tops. Their trip no doubt raised eyebrows and got tongues wagging but they didn’t care. Louise later confided that after that trip, “I decided that he was reliable.” Richard and Louise were married on December 21 1940, in Nottingham.

Richard and Louise at the ACC’s Mount Alexandra General Mountaineering Camp in 2007.

A vast and varied career

At first the war didn’t make much difference in their lives. Richard was teaching at the Stockport Grammar School and enjoyed his job. But in 1941 he trained as a meteorologist, forecasting for bombers flying over Europe and later for transatlantic flights. He was first posted to Prestwick in Scotland then to Iceland. It was here he was given a commission as Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force. In 1944 Richard was posted to Bermuda where he stayed until he was demobbed in 1946.

Although Richard was far away most of this time , he did get home on occasion: his daughter Elizabeth Anne was born in 1941, Michael John in 1943 and Peter Richard in 1944.

When Richard returned home after the war, he resumed teaching at Stockport Grammar School but before long the family moved to London where Richard got a job teaching math at Goldsmiths’ College, a teachers training college associated with London University. It was an exciting and busy time in his life: “I worked much too hard. I spent a lot of time on chess endings, a lot on graduate mathematics, a lot on the job, and far too little on my family. I was teaching 22 periods a week and many of the lectures were pretty much university level courses.”

Richard at a math exhibition in Singapore with student Teoh Gim Hok.

Soon, however, wanderlust took over and Richard and Louise and the family moved to Singapore, where Richard taught at the University of Malaya. Although the children would be sent back to boarding school in Britain after two years, Richard and Louise stayed for ten years. They lived luxuriously and enjoyed the services of a gardener and a cook. They were members of the Royal Singapore Yacht Club and successfully raced their Snipe class sailboat named Louise.

Making a home in Canada

In January 1962 Richard and Louise moved to Delhi where Richard taught at the newly forming Indian Institute of Technology. Here they again had a house and servants but the climate got to them—it was just too hot. So when a letter arrived from Edna Lancaster, the wife of an old colleague of Richard, Peter Lancaster, with photos showing their family frolicking in the snow in the Rocky Mountains of Canada, it looked so wonderful and refreshing. When Peter suggested that Richard and Louise come to Canada, they agreed, “Why not?”

So at almost 50 years of age, Richard and Louise came to Canada and started a new life—a big undertaking when you think that most of us are getting ready to settle into retirement at that age. Richard went to work teaching mathematics at the University of Calgary with the condition that he would not be head of department, but on April 1, 1966, the department head resigned and Richard was talked into taking over.

The university was hive of activity in those days. During the 1966-67 term there were 19 faculty members in the math department and 2/3 of them were new that year. The university was growing rapidly and there was an enormous demand for faculty in all subjects. Richard remembered, “I spent my first three summers visiting British universities raiding their math departments.” Many of his new hires were mountain climbers as the Rocky Mountains west of Calgary were a big draw. “We were all newcomers to the university, all happy to make new friendships and try new adventures.”

Louise and Richard on the summit plateau of Mount Kinabalu, northern Borneo.

The big new adventure that Richard and Louise embarked upon was mountain climbing and skiing. Richard and Louise had climbed in the Swiss Alps, made their way to the summit of Mount Kinabalu in Northern Borneo and visited the Rhotang Pass and the Kulu Valley in India, so they were familiar with mountains. But here in Canada they devoted themselves to the mountains, first with their friends in the math department then later with The Alpine Club of Canada.

Adventures in the Canadian Rockies and with the ACC

Every year since the club was formed in 1906, The Alpine Club of Canada has organized a General Mountaineering Camp, at a different location every year. Louise attended 31 of these camps and Richard attended 29, climbing hundreds of mountains. They took up cross-country skiing and were out on the trails every weekend until they were ninety years of age. In 1989, when they were in their early seventies, they undertook a ski adventure across the immense icefields of the St. Elias Mountains near Mount Logan, Canada’s highest peak. For many years the pair celebrated Richard’s birthday at Mount Assiniboine Lodge and on his 90th birthday he reached the top of the Towers (9830’), a challenging climb for anyone. A couple of years later, he and Louise skied the 11 km to Lake O’Hara Lodge for Valentines Day.

final years

In 2016 Richard celebrated his 100th birthday at Mount Assiniboine Lodge by hiking six km to Wonder Pass then, the next day, hiking to the top of the Niblet. Even at 100 Richard was enjoying life and we played chess in the evenings (Richard always won).

“But the great love of Richard’s life was his wife Louise. A beautiful woman with a bright mind and a beautiful personality, she played a huge role in his success. Richard was dedicated to Louise even after her death in 2010—when he climbed the Calgary Tower for the Alberta Wilderness Association during their annual fundraiser, a framed photo of Louise hung around his neck. For the last ten years of his life, Louise’s photo sat on his kitchen table while he ate his meals.”

Richard loved mathematics, publishing about a dozen books and over 300 scholarly articles but he said the he regarded himself as an amateur: “I’m an amateur in the more genuine sense of the word in that I love mathematics and would like everyone in the world to like mathematics…. My desire has been to pursue mathematics, mainly in the selfish way of just enjoying it on my own, but also wanting to pass this enjoyment on to other people, particularly as I get older and feel that at least I owe something for the terrific privilege that I’ve had of being able to live, all the time doing what I wanted to do.”

Richard continued to go to his office at the University of Calgary and do mathematics long after his retirement in 1982. He used to joke that he had worked at the university far longer for free than he did on salary. Richard last went to the office on Friday, February 21, 2020, only two weeks before he died.

But the great love of Richard’s life was his wife Louise. A beautiful woman with a bright mind and a beautiful personality, she played a huge role in his success. Richard was dedicated to Louise even after her death in 2010—when he climbed the Calgary Tower for the Alberta Wilderness Association during their annual fundraiser, a framed photo of Louise hung around his neck. For the last ten years of his life, Louise’s photo sat on his kitchen table while he ate his meals.

Richard and Louise Guy. Photo: Chic Scott

Richard’s legacy

In 2015 The Alpine Club of Canada, built the Louise and Richard Guy Hut on the Wapta Icefield, thanks to a large donation from Richard in memory of Louise.

Guy Hut under construction. Photo: Pat Morrow.

Richard (with Louise's picture) at the 2015 Mountain Guides Ball. Photo: Pat Morrow.

Richard earned many honours in his life: an Honourary Doctorate from the University of Calgary in 1991, honourary memberships in The Alpine Club of Canada and the Calgary Mountain Club and the pair were patrons of the Mountain Guides Ball in 1998.

Richard lived at home until his last few weeks and had wonderful support from his neighbours on Barron Crescent in Brentwood, from the folks in the Brentwood Coop store and the M and M’s store in Crowfoot, from his colleagues at the University of Calgary and from a group of young friends who had become his family here in Canada.

Richard leaves his three children, Elizabeth, Michael and Peter, grandchildren Kenny, Andy, Rosie, Carol and Kathy, and two great grandchildren, Sarah and Emily.

Plans for a memorial celebration will be made by his friends in The Alpine Club of Canada and the University of Calgary Mathematics Department.

Donations in honour of Richard can be made to one of his favourite charities: The Alberta Wilderness Association, The Alpine Club of Canada and the University of Calgary Scholarship Endowment.