Harold Alford WEBSTER

WEBSTER, Harold (Web) Alford
Passed away peacefully at home on December 31, 2002 at the age of 81 after a 3 year fight with cancer. He was predeceased by son John (Janet) in 1989. He will be sadly missed by Phil, his wife of nearly 60 years, and sons David (Joyce), Martin (Linda), Craig (Francine), daughter- in-law Janet, 10 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren. He will also be mourned by his brother Ralph and Ralph's extended family. Harold will be remembered as a soldier, as an engineer and as a father. Harold was born in Ottawa and raised in Toronto where he attended Bloor Collegiate Institute. After high school graduation he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Artillery as a gunner (69th Battery, 4th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment) and was overseas from 1941 through 1947, during which time he attended officers training with the British Army. In England, he met and married Phil and brought his war bride and David, his first son, back to Canada. Upon return, Harold attended the University of Toronto and graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1952. He was very proud of the fact that his father, his brother, and all of his four sons received Engineering degrees from the University of Toronto. During this time he remained active in the reserve army and retired with the rank of Major. Following university graduation, and after a brief stint with Toronto Hydro, Harold joined Corrosion Service Company Limited where his passion for corrosion control was developed over more than 50 years. In his early years with the company, Harold did everything from carrying out field surveys to hand excavating buried structures, progressing from field engineer to Chief Engineer, and ultimately to President. In the mid- 1980's, he became Chairman of the Board. Harold continued to maintain an active technical role in the company that he loved until shortly before his death, even while dealing with the effects of chemotherapy treatments. Through his work in the corrosion industry, Harold became involved with NACE International (The Corrosion Society) and in 1975 was elected President of the organization. He remained active with NACE throughout his career as a presenter of technical papers and as chair of various committees. He was the recipient of many awards, such as the Morris Cohen Award from the Metallurgical Society of CIM, but he was most proud of being elected a Fellow of NACE. Outside of working hours, Harold was an accomplished gardener and an avid skier. In keeping with his wishes and his desire to assist mankind in understanding anything and everything, his remains were donated to the University of Toronto Anatomy Department. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Cancer Society would be appreciated. A private service will be held on Saturday, January 11th, 2003.