Benjamin Morrison September 5, 1902 May 29, 2004 _ Ben Morrison died quietly at home on May 29, 2004, after a remarkable 101 year lifetime. Ben will be fondly remembered by his loving wife, Lorraine (Silverson) of 64 1/2 years and his three sons, Don (Helen), Ken (Patricia) and John (Pearl); and his grandchildren, Helen Elizabeth and Donald John; Krista, Kevin and Ashley; and Ellen and Sarah. He was predeceased by his parents, Donald John (Dan) and Jessie Morrison; his brother, Neil and sister, Eunice, Higgins. Ben was born September 5, 1902 in St. Ann's Bay, Cape Breton, NS. He came west in 1906 when his family moved to the new province of Saskatchewan to homestead at Meadowbank near Wadena. He worked with his dad as a carpenter and attended school intermittently, completing his high school in Tisdale in 1928. While working on a physics professor's house in Saskatoon, he was encouraged to apply for University, which he did. He attended the University of Saskatchewan for three years. In the summer of 1931, he was working with is father as a carpenter when his father was killed in a car accident. Ben completed his father's contract building a bank at Aylsham and two houses before returning to University. Due to becoming ill with scarlet fever, he was unable to complete his degree and went to work at Flin Flon; later he completed his degree in the same year as his eldest son completed a degree at the University of Saskatchewan. Ben's life encompassed some of the greatest developments in history, and he made significant contributions himself. Inspired by having seen Halley's comet twice in his lifetime, he wrote his autobiography "Life Between the Comets ". Always impressed with the importance of education and community activities, he served for fourteen years on the Flin Flon School Board where he supervised the construction of many schools, and then insisted that they be open for the widest possible community use. During World War II, he volunteered to serve in the RCAF in 1941 and was made a flight lieutenant, providing instruction in navigation and armaments. He designed an improvement to an automatic gunsight for allied fighter aircraft and was sent with an armed escort to Britain. While at the Research Division of the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting (HBM&S) Company in Flin Flon, he patented many intventions, including a technique of geophysical prospecting using earth potentials, a method that was responsible for the discovery of several ore bodies. His electromagnetic pump with no moving parts for pumping molten zinc was a marvel of basic physics and saved HBM&S millions. In 1959 he moved to Saskatoon to work in the Physics Division of the Saskatchewan Research Council, where his inventive mind solved many problems. He developed equipment for making resistivity surveys to determine the location of buried preglacial gravel beds for potential sources of water. He designed the Sidewall sampler that was used in exploration of the geology of southern Saskatchewan. Even in retirement his colleagues continued to seek his wise counsel that had been honed from his 15 years of working as a carpenter and 37 years in science. Throughout his life he used his carpentry skills to add pleasure to his family's life, building and improving their homes and the family cottage at Athapap. Ever active, at the age of 90, he built a 14-foot sailboat and then sailed it. His values were impressed on his three sons and his seven grandchildren, who have been inspired to excel in medicine, business, engineering and science, as well as to make important contributions to community affairs. Ben was a member of the Masonic Lodge for 76 years and was a founding member of the Harlesden Chapter. He was Past Master of Aberdeen Lodge, now amalgamated with Elstow #147. He was Past Patron of Eastern Star #4, and Right Excellent Companion of Harlesden Chapter, Royal Arch Masons. He was a 32nd degree Mason, Scottish Right, a member of the Wa Wa Shrine, and served as Grand Historian for Saskatchewan. Ben loved the poetry of Robert Burns, and could speak much of it from his heart. One of his favourites included this passage "The honest man, though e'er so poor, is king o'men for a'that. " The Funeral Service will be held on Wednesday, June 2, 2004 at 1:30 p.m. at St. Martin's United Church (2617 Clarence Ave., Saskatoon) conducted by Rev. Brian Walton, with interment to follow at Woodlawn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that contributions be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Saskatchewan (279 3rd Ave. N., Saskatoon, SK, S7K 2H8). Arrangements have been entrusted to SASKATOON FUNERAL HOME.