Travel and adventure characterized Eric Hazeldine's early years. He graduated from London University as an engineer, then served with the Royal Engineers in India and Burma, where he earned a mention in dispatches and invented vehicles for the troops' use.
After the war, he developed plantations in Tanzania with his wife Ruth, whom he married in 1946, but the African climate didn't agree with their second child.
On the voyage back to England, Eric designed the Hazelcar, an economical petrol or electric two-seater. He went on to manufacture 20 of the cars with his brother Roy. The Hazelcar enjoyed success in postwar England and was ahead of its time. In the 1950s, Ruth's desire to emigrate brought Eric and the Hazelcar to Canada; he complained, however, that he didn't get his money's worth from parking meters, it being the smallest car in the country.
An engineer to the core, Eric approached life with a pragmatic attitude. Everything had a system. His trusty label-maker ensured that no toy went unclaimed and no screw ended up in the wrong container. There was nothing that couldn't be fixed or improved with a coat hanger, duct tape and PVC, and no repairman ever darkened the door of the Hazeldine household. When his first daughter married, Eric decided to make the cake. Detailed research into proper baking methods and lengthy experiments with fondant icing produced a tiered cake equal to that of a professional.
Always one to correct spelling and grammar, in later life Eric was sometimes bemused to find his own marks and annotations in books he'd forgotten he'd read. His children - Keith, Carol, Sally, Gail and Piers - and 15 grandchildren suffered the wrath of his pencil, with letters, postcards and thank-you notes returned for improvement.
Alongside his busy professional and family life, Eric devoted considerable time to the local community, heading local chapters of several organizations. After a successful career, Eric retired as manager of the Bowater Mersey mill, and he and Ruth divided their time between Nova Scotia and Florida.
Before Eric's death, he and Ruth travelled across Canada to visit their seven great-grandchildren and enjoyed the company of their children in Florida. Although his body failed him, his mind was sharp to the end, and his wit, humour and concern for others remained. His last words were to ask that his nurse be thanked for his wonderful care, to commend the board of directors of King's Gate Club in Nokomis, Fla., and to tell his family he loved them, especially his darling Ruth.
Jennifer Dewar Thomas and Julia Hazeldine Bonnell are Eric's granddaughters.