KENNETH WAYNE DORMUTH, PH.D.

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KENNETH WAYNE DORMUTH, PH.D.

Ken passed away peacefully on November 7, 2023, in Victoria, succumbing to the effects of Alzheimer’s disease that he lived with for the past eight years. His love for family, science, and music and his quick wit transcended throughout his life and many memories associated with these will be with us as we move forward from our loss.

Ken was born in Regina on August 8, 1945, to Henry and Anna, the youngest of four siblings. Money was very tight when he was young but with the guidance of his older sister Evelyn, he focused on academics and won scholarships that allowed him to attend university to study physics. He obtained his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the University of Saskatchewan and his doctorate in theoretical physics from the University of Alberta. During his undergraduate studies, he met Alice, his wife-to-be. They married in 1967 and they had two children, Darryl in 1968 and Colin in 1970.

After completing his doctorate in 1971, Ken joined Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) as a reactor physicist at the Whiteshell Laboratories in Pinawa, Manitoba. It was in Pinawa where Ken and Alice raised their family, with their third child, Leanna, arriving in 1974, and made many lifelong friends. Ken enjoyed the amenities that the town offered, including golf, cross-country skiing, nature photography, and various bridge groups that were social or competitive, although with Ken you were never sure which were the social groups. He even took piano lessons continuing his love of music from when he played the accordion as boy. Life back then included the annual eight-hour summer road trip to Regina to see family, riding in a 1973 Pontiac Parisienne with dark brown vinyl seats, three kids on the backseat (one with car sickness), and no air conditioning. A couple of cold beers were always waiting for Ken at the end of those trips. Even during the latter stages of his Alzheimer's, stories from those times would often bring a smile to his face.

At AECL, Ken’s sharp mind was initially applied to analyzing alternate fuel cycles for the CANDU reactor. In the early 1980s, a nuclear waste management program was initiated at AECL and Ken joined that group where he applied his physics expertise to develop the computer program that would be used by the Canadian nuclear industry to simulate the transport of radionucleotides from nuclear fuel buried deep in the Canadian shield. Over time Ken transitioned from doing to managing but he always made sure to have a deep understanding of the work that the scientists and technologists in his group were pursuing. He became Director of Geological Sciences, which included the operation of the Underground Research Laboratory, and represented Canada on several international committees that were tasked with finding solutions to the disposal of nuclear waste. This part of his career culminated in the co-authoring of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Deep Geological Disposal of Nuclear Waste.

Upon completion of the EIS in 1998, the nuclear waste management program was wound down and Ken and Alice moved to Mississauga where Ken would finish his career at AECL looking into other environmental issues related to CANDU reactors and returning to studying fuel cycles for advanced reactor designs. Ken retired from AECL in 2007 after spending 36 years in a career of science. Ken and Alice started their retirement in Mississauga but decided to move to Victoria in 2014 to be closer to their grandchildren. Sadly, shortly after their move to Victoria Ken’s Alzheimer's disease set in and he was not able to enjoy the retirement he worked so hard to have.

Ken was predeceased by his wife of 50 years, Alice in 2017, his parents, Henry and Anna, and his siblings, Anton (Tony), John and Evelyn. He is survived by his children, Darryl (Marni), Colin (Alison), and Leanna; his grandchildren, Luke, Callum and Fiona; his niece Doreen and his nephew David.

The family wishes to express its sincerest gratitude to the doctors, nurses, and staff at Douglas Care for supporting Ken as he lived with this disease. We are especially grateful for giving Ken the gift of music in his everyday life.

A funeral service will be held at Saint Patrick’s Parish, 2060 Haultain St. in Victoria on April 26, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. with interment afterwards.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Apr 06, 2024, Apr 06, 2024