Kenneth Gilmour Sinclair

Kenneth Gilmore Sinclair, of Lethbridge, Alberta passed away on July 3, 2026, at the age of 85.

Ken will be remembered for his lifelong curiosity, his passion for photography, generosity in sharing his knowledge.

He travelled all the way to Ontario to meet and marry Beulah, who similarly emigrated from England. They raised two children – Karen, and Iain. He was known as Grumpy to his grandchildren, Campden and Phoenix. He is also survived by his sister, Marilyn, and brother, Alistair, having been predeceased by his parents George and Margaret, and his brother, Graham.

Ken grew up in Glasgow, Scotland. After completing a Scottish Diploma in Agriculture in 1962, he worked his passage to Canada aboard a livestock ship. After spending several years working in agriculture and farming, he found his professional calling in scientific and biological photography. He worked for the Government of Canada at CanFarm in Guelph, Ontario. In 1979, the family relocated to Lethbridge, where Ken was a photographer for the Lethbridge Agricultural Research Station until his retirement in 1997.
Photography remained one of Ken's greatest passions throughout his life.

He was especially proud to have earned his Registered Biological Photographer certification in 1985 and to have been invited to serve as a Fellow of the Biological Photographers Association in 1995. He developed deep expertise in large-format black-and-white photography and historic photographic processes, and enjoyed travelling to workshops and gatherings where he generously shared his knowledge with others who were eager to learn.

Never one to stop learning, Ken enrolled at the University of Lethbridge after retirement and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the age of 73, in 2014. His artistic interests extended beyond photography to painting and drawing, and he continued creating throughout his retirement. Ken also gave generously of his time as a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity in Lethbridge, helping to build houses every summer for over a decade.

Those who knew Ken also knew of his fondness for the quieter things in life. He could happily spend hours playing solitaire with a cup of coffee so strong that it wasn’t always clear if the spoon would survive stirring it. He loved walking the family dogs in the Lethbridge coulees, and appreciated the joys of an afternoon nap, good books, barbershop quartets, and old British comedies.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, or to the Alzheimer’s society.