Longtime coach, organizer and sport administrator Ian Legaree died suddenly on Jan. 17 at the age of 65. It came as a shock to everyone.

He was born in Atikokan, Ont., in 1959, which is where he also met Shawna Lampi, the woman who would become his wife. He was a swimming instructor, she was one of his students.

"He was always calm, very easy-going," said Shawna. "We always seemed to be at the pool together and that's where we had our first kiss."

They would end up marrying in January 1981 when Ian was 21 and Shawna just having turned 18. They were on the road a few months later as Ian accepted a job in Winkler, Man. After that, it was off to Iqaluit, then known as Frobisher Bay, in 1984 and eventually on to Yellowknife in 1989, where he became the director of sport, recreation and youth with the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs. It was a role he would hold until his retirement in 2020.

Along the way, Ian and Shawna had three boys, all born in the places they moved to: Alexander in Winkler, Stephen in Frobisher Bay and Sean in Yellowknife.

"That was enough SA国际影视传媒� no more moving," said Shawna with a laugh. "No more boys."

Alexander Legaree remembers his dad being just dad, no matter how busy he got or how much work he had to do.

"He was 100 per cent with us, no matter what," he said. "He spent every minute with us outside of work and it was such a feat. I still have no idea how he did it. I could have been a 12-year-old with challenges or a 42-year-old with challenges SA国际影视传媒� he was always present and always listened. He wanted the best for everyone."

Being involved with the kids was something her husband wanted to do from the start, said Shawna.

"In the old days, the mothers were always responsible for looking after the kids and the fathers went out and worked," she said. "Ian wanted to get right in there. One example was giving Alexander a bath when he was a baby SA国际影视传媒� [Ian] wanted to do it so he knew what to do and he was great at it."

Outside of work and family, Legaree was known for his many volunteer roles. One of those was as head coach of the Polar Bear Swim Club, a position he held from 1999 to 2009.

In an interview with SA国际影视传媒 following his retirement, Legaree noted that the club was at a crossroads when he came aboard.

"There was a little bit of turmoil when I began," he said in 2009. "It took a couple of years to iron out the kinks and get things back on track. It was also the end of the Jeremy Jaud era, one of our national team swimmers, and he was one of our best ever. A lot of the kids back then looked up to him."

'Absolute icon'

Legaree's final act, of sorts, with the swim club was at the 2009 Canada Summer Games, where he served as head coach of Team NWT's swim team. The athletes under his watch made sure he knew he would be missed.

"After the last relay ended, some of the kids told me to go and console some of the kids who were going off to university," said Legaree. "One of the kids, Courtney Northrup, was crying, or so I thought. It was all one big set up and I was given a couple of bucket showers after it was all over."

Daryl Dolynny worked with Legaree on the coaching side for eight years, and he told SA国际影视传媒 in 2009 that you wouldn't find anyone better to work with.

"He is an absolute icon of swimming, not just in Yellowknife, but the NWT," said Dolynny. "He has been a great mentor for the kids and he's a magnet to the sport. Every time he worked with the kids, you could see them flourish and I think the community will miss that."

Legaree was also an original member of the board of directors of the Yellowknife Community Foundation from its inception in 1993. In addition, he was one of those who put forward the idea to the City of Yellowknife of creating such an organization a few years earlier. He would work with the foundation until 2023. During that time, the foundation gave out more than $3 million to students and community groups through scholarships and grants.

SA国际影视传媒淚anSA国际影视传媒檚 passing has reverberated across the Yellowknife community, the North, and beyond," stated Laurie Gault, chair of the foundation. "His passion for community building, and endless giving of his time and talents, will stand as an enduring testament to community spirit and inspiration to young and old alike. We are so grateful for IanSA国际影视传媒檚 enthusiasm, leadership and friendship, and our hearts are with his family.SA国际影视传媒�

The foundation created the Ian Legaree Youth Leadership Fund in his honour.

One thing some people may remember about Legaree more than anything else was his work with the Arctic Winter Games. He was involved in 19 editions
of the biennial event beginning in 1986 in Whitehorse as a member of the Team NWT mission staff. He was part of the host society board when the Games were held in Yellowknife in 1990 with his largest role happening between 1993 and 2019, when he served as technical director on the AWG International Committee.

John Rodda, president of the international committee, worked with Legaree since the 1990s and remembered his colleague as a quintessential professional who always remained calm and collected.

"Ian had the ability to navigate any challenge and he was tremendously organized," said Rodda. "More often than not, he knew the answer to any question you would ask him and if he didn't, he knew who would have the answer. He always pulled things together in a calm and professional way. It's such a huge loss."

Letters written to family

Organization was something her husband was known for, said Shawna. Even after his death, Shawna found he was a step ahead.

"Sean, our son, got onto his computer and found the checklist for everything I would need to do after he passed," she said. "Policy numbers, people to call, what to write about for his obituary SA国际影视传媒� he had everything there waiting for us. It's like he was looking out for us even after he was gone."

That included letters to his entire family.

"I read my letter and it made me smile," said Shawna. "The boys cried."

Legaree was a huge Toronto Blue Jays fan and listened to golf "with his eyes closed," said Shawna. She also called herself a 'Blue Jays widow' every time the team was on TV.

"He would disappear downstairs and watch the game and I wouldn't see him until it was over," she said.

While he technically retired from the GNWT in 2020, he never stopped working. He was involved with the GNWT's Covid-19 response when the pandemic took hold and was a big part of the territorial government's work during the 2023 wildfire evacuations.

"He was terrible at retirement," recalled Shawna with a laugh. "I think he looked at the work on wildfires as a way to try and help people who had been displaced because we know what that's like. We had a massive oil leak at our house and had to live somewhere else for over a year while they rebuilt our home. He empathized with those who had to leave."

A memorial for Legaree has been scheduled for July 17 at the legislative assembly and it will coincide with what would have been his 66th birthday.

"We had a great life together and I'm so thankful for the opportunities that we had," Shawna said. "I wish it could have been longer, but he was such a loving man. One thing I'll always remember was the morning he left to go to work on his last day. He was always an early riser and I was always someone who enjoyed doing things later. But I was up early that morning and I got a goodbye kiss from him. I'll always be thankful for that. It was one of so many special things we had during our time together.

"We were a perfect fit."