'He was truly a force': Remembering longtime N.W.T. swim coach and volunteer Ian Legaree

Ian Legaree, a longtime swim coach and board member with the Yellowknife Community Foundation and the Arctic Winter Games, is being remembered as a solid family man, a champion of youth sports and someone who was "always giving back to the community."

Legaree died suddenly on Jan. 17, at the age of 65.

"He was truly a force," said Charles Dent, who served for many years with Legaree on the Yellowknife Community Foundation board.

"He was one of the best-organized people that I've ever run into. He could look at the challenges, map out what needed to happen along the way, and develop a plan to get through it."

Dent said the charitable foundation was "very, very near and dear to [Legaree's] heart," and was a way for him to do something he believed in deeply: help make his community a better place.  

"He was, you know, one of those people who was always giving back to the community, and to the broader North," Dent said. "And so this was an opportunity to improve things for people who lived here."

That community spirit also led Legaree to become deeply involved in the Arctic Winter Games (AWG), for decades. He first joined the board of the AWG international committee in 1990 and served for 35 years. He was involved in 19 AWGs, in various roles.

In a statement this week, the AWG international committee cited Legaree's "legacy of dedication, leadership and unwavering commitment to the organization and its mission."

Committee president John Rodda said in a statement that Legaree was an "invaluable" member of the board, who will be sorely missed.

"He was more than a colleague; he was a mentor, a friend, and a true champion of our mission. Ian's legacy will live on in the work we continue to do," Rodda said.

Legaree was honoured many times for his work, including with the Rotary Club of Yellowknife's Paul Harris Fellowship in 2007, and a humanitarian award from the World Leisure Organization in 2014. He was also presented with the Premier's Award four times — in 2010, 2014, 2019 and 2022.

Still, for all of Legaree's work both as a territorial government employee and as a community volunteer, Dent said nobody could doubt his main priority.

"Ian's straightforwardness, and his love of his family, were certainly things that you knew about Ian right from the start," Dent said. 

"He was very much involved in the community, but family came first. And I think that's something that we'll all remember about Ian."

'Just this solid guy'

Legaree's wife, Shawna Lampi-Legaree, agrees — he was always there for his family. She describes him as a steady and supportive partner, good-humoured, and a doting father to their three sons. They always laughed a lot together, she said. 

"He was just this solid guy you knew was always there for you no matter what happened," she said.

She also admitted, with a laugh, that Legaree could also be a little "annoying" at times. Lampi-Legaree describes herself as a more "free-flowing" person, compared to her "hyper-organized" husband. 

"My friends would complain about their husbands not doing something they asked — and I had the opposite," she said.

"I had to wait 'til I was completely ready, I knew exactly how I was going to get it done, and then I would tell Ian —because in 45 minutes it would probably be done."

The couple was married for 43 years, and were just days away from their 44th anniversary when Legaree died. They met when Lampi-Legaree was still in her teens, and Legaree, not much older, was her swimming instructor.

"I decided to continue on and do bronze medallion, and I failed the first time — and he was happy, because that kept me around," she recalled.

They were soon married, just weeks after Lampi-Legaree had turned 18.

"We were just one of the lucky ones because not everyone who falls in love at that age makes good decisions, but we obviously did," she said.

Four years ago, they had planned to go to Greece — always a dream of Lampi-Legaree's — to celebrate their 40th anniversary, but then the COVID-19 pandemic happened and they had to cancel. Lampi-Legaree is now planning to go sometime with one of their sons, "because Ian would be disappointed if I didn't." 

She said Legaree was always taking care of her, and thinking ahead to ensure that his family would be OK if anything ever happened to him. 

At some point, he had written letters to each of them and Lampi-Legaree opened hers a few days ago.

"It was just all these memories. And it ended in about 2000, and he said, 'more to come.' So, you know, he still hadn't finished my letter. He had worked on it and then it just didn't get finished," she said.

"So I think I'll finish writing that letter."

A celebration of life will be held for Legaree on his birthday — July 17 — at the N.W.T. Legislative Assembly building.