COLIN MURRAY BAIN

Colin Murray Bain died peacefully in his home at The Village of Arbour Trails, Guelph, Ontario, on November 21, 2025. Born in London, England, on June 19, 1945, Colin spent his childhood in both London and the Scottish Highlands, his ancestral home. A student at St. Paul's School in London, Colin was steeped in classical 19th century education, studying Latin, History, and English, enjoying boxing, cricket, and rugby, and becoming Lance Sergeant of the school's Combined Cadet Force. With the encouragement of his brother, Donald Morrison Bain (1939–2009), Colin moved to Hamilton, Ontario, in September 1963 to study Social Sciences at McMaster University. At McMaster, Colin met Vida Ruth Seifert (1947–2016), who had come from Sudbury to study Science. They married in 1969 and had 47 happy years together. Colin pursued graduate studies at the University of Guelph and his M.A. in History was granted in 1968. He entered the university's brand-new doctoral program, focusing on the industrial revolution in Scotland. Colin and Vi moved to Scotland for a year and, once installed in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Vi organized all the historical records Colin needed to study and removed the ones he could safely ignore. Accordingly, three years-worth of research were completed in 18 months, and Colin's Ph.D. was granted at Guelph in 1973. Having completed his Ph.D., Colin realized he did not really want to spend all his life in historical research and enrolled at Althouse College of Education in London, Ontario. He joined the teaching staff of Nelson High School and took early retirement from Acton High School in 2000. Colin was highly dedicated to educating young people and is remembered as a strong supporter of the Halton Learning Foundation. In collaboration with his writing partner, Dennis DesRivieres, he co-wrote over a dozen social science text books for use in Ontario's schools. In their retirement, Colin and Vi had an intense 15 years of visiting their recently acquired cottage on Manitoulin Island, travelling the world, enjoying their garden in Morriston, Ontario, and pursuing hobbies such as the restoration of his 1972 MG B. In 2014, Vi was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and Colin spent much of his time as a caregiver until Vi's death in 2016. After relocating to Guelph, Ontario, in 2015, Colin received the support of the Arbour Trails community with Vi's sudden decline and his own deteriorating health as he dealt with Parkinson's disease. Colin also found an advocate and was strongly supported by his nephew, Nigel Bain, who moved with his family to Guelph in 2017. Colin used to say that his finest quality was his luck. He had the luck to be born into a rock-solid family, to have been exposed to an intellectually challenging education, to have met Vi, the bedrock of his adult life, to find steady employment with none of the periods of unemployment common in professional careers today, and lastly, Colin felt lucky in that he chose to live in the best country in the world. Donations can be made to Colin's favourite charity, Halton Learning Foundation https://haltonlearningfoundation.ca/colin_bain_memorial/, in support of the Colin M. Bain Halton Social Science Scholarship. A memorial will be held in the spring.