Lyle Reid Cruickshank

Lyle Reid Cruickshank

Husband, Father, Grandfather, Brother, Son,
Brother-in-law, Teacher, Leader, Student, Friend,
Social Entrepreneur, Colleague, Teammate.

Lyle Reid Cruickshank died peacefully on March 27, 2022, leaving his wife Susan Mary (nee Flood) of 55 years and their children Paula (Michael Patterson), Devon (Kathryn McClemens) and Ian (Amber). Lyle is also survived by his grandchildren Connor, Tyler, Caelan, Chloë, William and Declan, and his beloved "lil sis" Lorna Leckie (Gordon), and their BC-based family. He was predeceased by his brother Lyndon and his parents and leaves behind cherished cousins, nieces, a nephew, in-laws and many friends.
We are thankful for the sensitive caring Lyle received from West Island Manor staff in the final months of his life.
To know Lyle, was to love him. His good looks and charming smile were only the beginning, and any time spent with him would evidence commitment to family, his Beaconsfield community and the United Church. His faith and love of family were cultivated in his tightly knit Eastern Townships upbringing in Kinnear's Mills. At times, more interested in reading than in his farming responsibilities, Lyle gained a keen interest in Education, and threatened to remain a professional student, by attending Thetford Mines High School, MacDonald College, Bishop's University, the University of New Brunswick and ultimately earning his Masters and Ph.D degrees at Michigan State University in Lansing, Michigan. He met many friends along the way, but none better than at Bishop's. He found such good friends there, that they formed a group that continued to meet for almost 60 years.
Interest in education continued as a teacher at Waterloo High School, where he ultimately met the love of his life, Susan, who was studying to become a Nurse. Eventually leaving the Townships and moving to Montreal, he started working at the National Film Board of Canada, following a brief attempt to be interested in financial affairs with SunLife. Not long after, he and Susan were married on June 4, 1966. Lyle had an impressive 29-year career with the NFB, including opening the Sydney, Australia office and eventually, leading Canadian Distribution. Upon his departure from the Crown Corporation in 1994, he leveraged his passion for film and culture as a Cinema professor at Dawson College. He also taught courses in Media Management and Communications at Concordia.
When the Cruickshank family returned to Canada from Australia in 1978, they moved to Beaconsfield and Lyle began his community involvement. It started with his children's activities, such as Scouting, Soccer, and Hockey, but soon extended to Municipal Government where he was a city counsellor for 12 years. It ended with his support of Beaurepaire United Church which has been part of his life and work for over 40 years. He was a regular churchgoer and contributed to committees and the life of the congregation, but where his considerable talents came to bear was in the effort to prolong the life of the Church with a development project that would become Villa Beaurepaire. Lyle collaborated with many community members and partners on the way but was the inspiration and the life force behind the conception, building and successful running of an affordable home for autonomous seniors, which eventually became a vibrant community of its own.
Lyle lived his life with integrity and a sincere appreciation for service, education, faith and family. He also believed in having fun, whether on the golf course, skiing, playing with grandchildren, or sharing in travel, a drink or a meal with friends.
In order to truly celebrate his vibrant life, an in-person event will be held at Beaurepaire United Church at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 7, 2022.
Until then donations to Villa Beaurepaire in his memory would be gratefully accepted at Villa Beaurepaire, 23 Fieldfare Ave, Beaconsfield, QC, H9W 4W4.