CHRISTOPHER HAMPSON

(September 6, 1931 – August 30, 2025). With profound sadness, the Hampson family announces the death of Christopher Hampson, CBE, who passed peacefully in London, England, on August 30, 2025, age 93. Christopher was the loving and devoted husband of Joan Margaret Cassils Evans Hampson, his wife of 71 years who survives him. His wisdom and guidance as the patriarch of the family will be greatly missed by his five children, Daphne Hampson (John Kearns), Geoffrey Hampson (Teresa Findlay), Sarah Hampson (Mark Raynes Roberts), Harry Hampson (Rachel Hampson), and Aimée Pitman (David Pitman); and his 14 grandchildren, Nicholas Clarridge (Kate Clarridge), Tait Clarridge (Avery Clarridge), Luke Clarridge (Rachael Shrum), Patrick Hampson (Jen Hampson), Claire Hampson Hahn (Declan Hahn), Charlotte Hampson (Guy Kirkpatrick), Joshua Hampson, Henry Hampson, Phoebe Hampson, Amelia Kearns, Alistair Kearns, Katie Pitman, Lucy Pitman, and Ollie Pitman. Christopher was sadly predeceased by his grandson and namesake, Christopher Hampson, last year. He is also survived by four great-grandchildren, Henry Clarridge, Cole Clarridge, Leni Clarridge, and Caroline Hampson. The extended family of his nieces and nephews will also remember him fondly. Christopher was born in Montreal in 1931, the middle child of Harold Hampson and Geraldine (née Smith) Hampson. He was predeceased by his brother, Tony Hampson; and sister, Gay Speirs. He grew up in Montreal and Ottawa, attending Ashbury College in Ottawa and graduating from McGill University in Montreal in 1952 with a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering. He began his long and distinguished career as a business executive with CIL in Montreal, the Canadian subsidiary of London-based Imperial Chemicals Industries (ICI). In the early days of his career, he traveled the country, making presentations to companies on the merits of plastic packaging. Christopher quickly rose through the ranks of the company, relocating the family to Geneva, Switzerland, in 1966 to attend a year-long management program, then to Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1968 for three years, and back to Montreal. He was seconded to ICI in London in 1978, where he worked in the company's headquarters. In 1984, he was promoted to the position of Managing Director of ICI Australia in Melbourne, Australia, for four years, a stint he recalled with great fondness. The company of about 10,000 employees "was part publicly held and it was far enough away from ICI in London that I was able to have a lot of autonomy," he recalled in a 1999 profile. In 1989, he returned to London as the first non-British executive director of ICI, where he was responsible for health, safety, and environment. Valued on the ICI board as an "internationalist," having worked in two ICI subsidiaries, according to a fellow board member, Christopher was awarded Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for services to industry and the environment in 1994, the year he retired from ICI. He went on to serve on a number of boards, both in the UK and in Canada. They include British Gas, British Biotech, Yorkshire Electricity, RMC Group plc (formerly Ready Mixed Concrete Limited), and the UK Government's Environment Agency. In Canada, he was appointed to the boards of SNC Lavalin, TransAlta Utilities, and Hawker Sidley. Despite retiring in the UK, Christopher and Joan maintained a great fondness for Canada, especially Metis-sur-mer, Quebec, where many of their friends spent the summers. In his spare time, Christopher loved to garden, play tennis, fly fish for salmon in Scotland, and ski the Austrian alps, which he did well into his 80s. He will be remembered as being devoted to family above all else, convening reunions every two years to bring together family members who were spread out around the world. When together, the Hampson clan was the size of a small company, numbering over 30 as spouses and partners were included. With great generosity of spirit, Christopher and Joan led the way on how to manage a large family and build a great sense of belonging and love. Once asked by a business journalist how he would like to be remembered, he replied: "As somebody who helped to achieve something and who inspired others to achieve something. I would like to be remembered through the activities of other people." Private memorials to be held in London, England, and in Montreal, Quebec, on dates to be decided.