Art D’entremont of Regina Beach passed away peacefully on Friday, July 28, 2017 in the Regina General Hospital after a brief illness. Predeceased by his daughter Sandra Langford (Norm); Arthur is survived by his wife Betty D’entremont; children: Martin (Mary Ellen Dewar) of Calgary, Andre D’entremont (Maxine Hanofski) of McLean, Diane (Allan Powers) of Calgary, stepson, Strider Hotzon and family of Winnipeg; grandchildren: Brenda, Karen, Shaun, Parker, Jeff, Dana, David, Victoria, and Christopher; siblings: Joyce D’entremont, Lorraine McGarrahan, Fred (Marylyn), Ray (Heather), and Janet Brittain (Wayne); numerous nieces, nephews and cousins; and his special companion Olivia Brown of San Antonio.

Art was born Louis Arthur D’entremont in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia on March 6, 1932 to Louis and Anne (Gaudet). To help provide for his family he left home at 17 after finishing grade 11. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force 405 Squadron where he earned his pilot’s wings which was his most cherished accomplishment. He flew a wide variety of aircraft including the Lancaster III bomber and his favorite the P2V7 Neptune bomber. After his service he took a position with the Saskatchewan Air Ambulance where he flew emergency medical flights at all hours of the night and day, in all kinds of extreme weather, and in the most dangerous takeoff and landing conditions. In 1965 executive government transport was added to his medivac role. His flight log books record many politicians’ names including Tommy Douglas. He was proud of his public service and no doubt helped save many lives.

Following Air Ambulance he went into Management with the Ministry of Transport in Winnipeg where he was Inspector of Airways. Towards the end of his career he was seconded to the Canadian International Development Agency where he was based in Barbados and was tasked to upgrade safety at 22 airports in 13 different Caribbean nations. After 35 years of public service Art semi-retired taking on charter flights and then becoming GM of the Regina Flying Club for 4 more years.

When he wasn’t working Art enjoyed many recreational activities. He was an avid golfer, guitarist, boater, Rider’s Fan and he particularly loved spending time at his cottage in Beresford Lake, visiting relatives in Nova Scotia and playing bridge in Texas and in tournaments around the world. In fact bridge was his avocation. It brought him life-long friendships, allowed him to travel and ultimately gave him the satisfaction of achieving Emerald Life Master status, which put him in the top 2 percentile of contract bridge players worldwide.

A Celebration of Art’s life was held at Speers Funeral Chapel, 2136 College Avenue, Regina, SK on August 2, 2017. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Lumsden and District Heritage Home, 10 Aspen Bay, Lumsden, SK, SOG 3C0 or Royal Canadian Legion Branch 234 in Lumsden, SK.

An event was named for Art at the San Antonio 4th of July Regional in 2019