Terence Alfred MacLennan Eisan, 68

Captain Terence "Terry" Eisan, 68, of Gander, NL, passed away suddenly Monday, November 27th, 2017 at his home. Predeceased by his parents Alfred and Marie (MacLennan) and brother Ian. Left with loving memories are his wife Bernadette, son Christopher and daughter-in-law Jillian, grandsons Miles and Michael, brother Roy (Ruth), nephews Craig (Nancy) and Bradley (Tracey), and nieces Renee (Jason), Krista (Paul), and Melanie (Mark), as well as a large circle of other relatives and friends.

Terry was born December 9, 1948, at the Banting Memorial Hospital, Gander, NL to Alfred and Marie (MacLennan). Along with brothers Ian and Roy, Terry spent his early childhood living alongside the runways of Gander International Airport on the American Side, and needless to say he was captivated by airplanes from a young age. He earned his private pilot license in 1966 which would set his course on being an important contributor to Gander's rich aviation history.

Terry graduated from Gander Collegiate in 1967 and soon started training towards his commercial pilot's license (1970) while working with his father Alfred (an aircraft maintenance engineer) at Allied Aviation as a ground handler out of Hanger 21 at Gander International Airport. This was a period of his life he would always fondly recount in his many stories, often prefaced with "you could say I started from the ground up".

Terry started his commercial flying career as a bush pilot with Labrador Airways in Goose Bay, NL in the summer of 1972. The next year he returned home to Gander to fly with Gander Aviation. It was during this time he met the love of his life Bernadette Clarke.

Terry and Berni were married on January 20, 1976 and had a son, Christopher, on June 1st, 1978.

Terry started working with the NL Government Air Services in the summer of 1977. A career that would span over 38 years, thousands of flying hours, three generations of water bomber aircraft, and hundreds of forest fire operations in Newfoundland & Labrador and across Canada.

In the summer of 2002 history repeated itself when Terry's son Christopher also began work with Government Air Services. Father and son would once again work out of Hanger 21 at Gander International Airport, this time as crew members on the Canadair CL-215 and later the Bombardier 415 Waterbomber. Terry served his last piloted flight in September 2015 with son Christopher as his co-pilot.

Along with being a loving husband and father, Terry became a doting grandfather to first Miles Ian Pierce on July 15, 2009, and later Michael Terence Ewen, on December 8, 2014. Two boys that he was extremely proud of and became very close to in their short time together. Christopher and his wife Jillian living in the house next door allowed him to be a daily part of his grandsons' lives. Poppy's "treasures".

Among his many talents, Terry was a skilled wood worker who accomplished many projects in his spare time, his perfectionism serving him well in this pursuit.

Terry loved to tell stories about growing up on Gander Airport and Sullivan Avenue, his long aviation career, and he had an encyclopedic knowledge of the history of Gander that he loved to share. He volunteered his time to the North Atlantic Aviation Museum as a board member for over 20 years, and also helped rebuild its Tiger Moth aircraft and DC-3 cockpit for display. Terry was also an active Mason and a member of the Royal Canadian Legion.

Terry had a wide circle of family and friends and loved to socialize. Whether it be a morning coffee, a breakfast with friends, an evening drink, friends hosted for various occasions, or one of many family dinners he and Berni hosted at their home at 19 Bishop Street. There was always much laughter and joy.

Words cannot describe how much he'll be missed by his family and friends forever, and as Terry would say, "that's a Trans-Canada fact."

Visitation will be held at Stacey's Funeral Home, Gander, details to follow. Funeral service at St. Martin's Church, Gander, details to follow. Flowers are gratefully accepted, and donations in his memory may be made to the North Atlantic Avaition Musuem or Cobb's Pond Rotary Park.

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