Allan Inglis MACFARLANE

Passed away on April 9, 2024, at the age of 93. Born in the factory town of Inchinnin, Scotland, the middle of three sons of Donald and Annie Macfarlane. Beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He is survived by Pamela, his wife of 53 years; his children, Toni (Rimes), Jonathan (Nicola) and Alex (Rob); six grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Allan had boundless energy and curiosity, and he lived his life at full speed. After his military service in Scotland, he set sail for Canada in search of opportunity and adventure. He found a job pumping gas and a room in a boarding house and got to work. Through tenacity and unfailing energy, he forged a successful and multi-faceted career spanning more than 50 years. He ran his own insurance adjusting company, invested in mixed use real estate and started a pharmaceutical production company. The challenge and risk of being an entrepreneur inspired and motivated him always. He was a tenacious defender against injustice and always protected and fought for his family. Allan's boundless curiosity and energy were not confined to the business world. Telling him he wouldn't be able to do something, was always accepted as a challenge. He learned to fly a plane, then a helicopter. In his 70's, he was told he was too old to snowboard. He became a snowboarder. Endlessly curious, he studied Italian and Spanish, played the piano, painted and wrote poetry, with varying degrees of success. In his 80's, he and Pamela travelled the world: Europe, Asia, India, Russia, South America and Africa. He was bombastic and curious and never able to stay on the sidelines. His exploits are the stuff of family legend. In the 1970s, he and a fellow pilot spent three weeks flying a small plane from Kabul to Toronto. He was briefly incarcerated for inadvertently photographing a military building. Years later, he told an armed guard in Zimbabwe that he made drugs (he owned a pharmaceutical company). He left a car in gear and it spectacularly flew over a stone wall, he barely managed to get a small plane to land after it faltered in the north Atlantic and, for reasons that are still unclear, opened his door in a car wash. "Grampa" stories will be shared and savored for generations to come. He was tenacious, frustrating, generous and loving, and he made the world a better, brighter place for all of us. At his request, there will be a small family gathering to commemorate his life. In lieu of flowers, a donation in his name to Covenant House Toronto will be greatly appreciated.