Obituary of Ian Selby Mailman

It’s with immeasurable sadness that we announce the passing of Ian Mailman, of Moschelle, on February 19th at Valley Regional Hospital, age 76. 

Ian had an amazing ability to be able to fix anything, at age 9 he tore down an old power saw and was able to rebuild it by himself which kickstarted his career as a small engines mechanic. Ian started working at the family business ¨Valley Marine” He drove rock trucks in Cape Breton in his early years and was a volunteer firefighter with ARVFD for five years. He opened up his own small engine shop in Granville Ferry, and then to Hillside Drive.

Ian had travelling in his veins, in his off seasons he would work with Teddy Lowe driving salt trucks from Pugwash, he also spent time working in Alberta and taught small engine mechanics at the local school. 

Ianś favourite job was working for DND as an outboard motor mechanic. He loved working on the boats for the cadets so they could pursue their water training. Ian would enjoy attending end of year celebrations to cheer on the cadets. He retired after 15 years with DND and they called him out of retirement twice, because he was an incredible mechanic that usually only had to look or listen at an engine to diagnose what was wrong with it. 

Ian had a profound love for anything to do with water or land sports. He won several trophies in water-skiing, speed boating, ski-dooing and hydroplaning. 

Ian was a professional scuba diver and a member of the National Scuba Divers Association.

In his later years he purchased his favourite water toy

¨Sparky” the sea doo . Ian had countless seadoo trips , tons of laughs and cherished memories. 

Ian was a founding member of the 74th Crusaders and was a member of ATVANS and ACUMUTS. Many said he was a human GPS, he could guide you literally anywhere you wanted to go. It would be an understatement to say Ian was a social butterfly. He knew everyone and was always willing to help anyone in need, often multi-tasking to ensure everyone was taken care of. 

Ianś greatest honour were his children and grandchildren, he loved to teach them everything he knew about life, often with a big grin on his face. Ian is survived by his wife Beverly, sons Stephen and Christopher, step-children Paul, Matthew and Bonnie, mother-in-law Frances Sabean, grandchildren Selena, Elijah, Foster, Alex, Madison, Irelynne, Mackinnon, and Isabella. Ian is also survived by his kitty whom he thought the world of ¨Heidi Lou.¨ Ian is predeceased by his parents Donald and Joan Mailman, and sister Andrea Murphy.

We would like to thank all of the first responders, especially the ones that helped the day Ian passed. The family cannot begin to thank you enough. A celebration of life for Ian will take place on April 19th at the Moschelle community hall at 2pm. We want to honour Ians memory the best way we know how and ask if you can arrive in a ATV, side by side, lawn tractor, 2, or 4 stroke anything with an engine , to help celebrate the life of Ian and help the family navigate through this incredible loss. 

Donations can be made to the Heart and Stroke foundation, Diabetes, Alzheimers society.