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Richard Lovatt F55
7 February 1937 - 17 August 2024
Richard was born in Barlaston, near Stoke-on-Trent, to Betty Thomas from Wales and Alec from Stoke. He was the second of five children.
After attending Yarlet School in Staffordshire for his early education, he enrolled at Canford School where he excelled at academics and sports. Upon completing the required military service of the time in Germany, he studied Geology and Physics at Cambridge University from 1957-1960.
He married Hilary Ruston in 1960 and had three children: Alison (1961), Amanda (1963), and Andrew (1966). They settled in The Potteries where Richard worked for the family business, Acme Marls, making kiln furniture.
In 1969 he immigrated to Canada with his young family where he worked in the Toronto area as a manager at Domtar and the Toronto Brick Company. An avid outdoorsman, he introduced his children to cross-country skiing, and the family spent weekends hiking and holidays exploring North America in a tent. The whole family was active at Trinity Anglican Church nearby where Richard was a sidesman, the churchwarden’s assistant.
In 1973 the family moved to Ottawa where Richard began a long and dedicated career in the Canadian federal government. He worked for departments such as Industry, Trade & Commerce, focusing on Canadian investment abroad, and Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) as a Senior Policy Advisor. He also became a lifetime member of the American Ceramics Society. As there was no Scout Troop in his neighbourhood, Richard started one and was a Scout leader for many years.
In 1980 while posted at the Canadian Embassy in Japan, he met Masako on a hiking trip (naturally). They were married in 1981 and had 43 happy years together in Ottawa. Sachi came along in 1987 and Richard embraced fatherhood again. Richard and Masako loved entertaining in their home, throwing countless dinner parties, as well as hosting many international guests for extended periods of time, including four Syrian refugees.
He played tennis all his life, often organizing matches. He loved cross-country skiing, having started as a young man in Europe, and until recently, skied regularly through the woods behind his home in Ottawa. Like his father before him, Richard enjoyed his garden and lovingly tended one wherever he lived. But above all else, he loved nothing more than to canoe camp in the back country of Algonquin Park with anyone who would agree to go along. He introduced many people from around the world to this wilderness treasure in Ontario. It was his wish to have his ashes scattered there, which will be done in the summer of 2025. He is survived by his wife, four children, eight grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren, as well as his four siblings.
Richard was a kind, gentle, loving, adventurous, family man… a true gentleman.
