John Munroe Bogie

Born in Brooklyn, New York, on September 6, 1926, John Munrow Bogie was born to his American father, Robert, and his Canadian mother, Florence. John had his first airplane ride at the age of six in a Travel Air 6000 at Newark Airport, instilling in him a love of flying. At 13, he flew to Ottawa to visit relatives; Canada's capital city would eventually become his home.

John earned his Private pilot licence at age 17 and following high school graduation, he enlisted in the United States Navy in 1944, training as an air gunner for the Second World War, too young for military flying. The war ended in 1945 before he was deployed and John then continued his education at Pail Smith's College in New York from 1946 - 48, and graduated from the University of Vermont in Burlington in 1950. He continued to fly, purchasing his first aircraft, an Aeronca Champion, in 1946. In 1947 he convinced his family to buy a Beechcraft Conzana Model 35.

During summers off from university, John flew as a co-pilot in twin-engine aircraft for Laurentian Air Services Ltd., owned by his uncle, Barnet McLaren, a brother of John's mother and a pioneer pilot. In 1951, McLaren offered his nephew a position as pilot for Laurentian Air Services. Soon John was busy flying charters for lumber companies and sportsmen as well as fire patrols from Laurentian's Ottawa base. In 1952, he was flying charters for Hall's Air Service in Val-d'Or Quebec, carrying passengers and supplies in Quebec and to Chibougamau, Quebec - a mining town with no road or rail access - and flying north of Baie - Comeau on a sub - contract with Spartan Air Services for the U.S. Steel Corporation.

In 1953, John continued to fly to Laurentian, sub-contracted to Spartan in the topographical survey for Newfoundland. He flew there after Laurentian Air Services obtained a five - year contract with British Newfoundland Corporation (Brinco), surveying Labrador mineral deposits. By then, John was living in Canada full time and had registered the Bogie Bonanza in Canada.

Newly - married to his wife, Peggy, and settled in Ottawa, in 1952 John began a new chapter. Following a first organizational meeting in December 1952, John Bogie and Ottawa pilot Margaret Carson co-founded the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) to represent small aircraft owners and pilots. John was elected as chairman. Margaret set up an office in her garage for the new organization and became the first secretary - treasurer.

John continued his support of COPA from the start, seeing it grow to over 17,000 across Canada today. COPA was modelled after the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association in the United States, which Bogie had joined in 1945. With COPA, John Bogie stepped down as president in 1956, then served and as treasurer for 25 years. In 1992, he was named as an Honorary Director and Life Member of COPA.

Continuing his career in aviation, John became aviation manager and chief pilot for M.J. 'Jim' Boylen of Toronto, who had made a fortune from the mining business in Northern Ontario. From 1956 - 1961 John Bogie again flew a Grumman Goose for Boylen, taking the company's geologists and prospectors throughout North America and remote areas of Canada where they discovered gold, copper, asbestos and iron. During that time, Bogie was instrumental in the formation of the Canadian Business Aviation Association (CBAA) which started as an offshoot of COPA.

In 1961, John Bogie. returned to Laurentian Air Services as executive vice-president. At the time, the company was losing money, but when it became profitable again in 1968, he bought the company from his uncle. John diversified Laurentian's activities, serving new territories such as the mining town of Schefferville, Quebec, (formerly known as Knob Lake) which was reachable only by rail and air. The company helped to pioneer the Schefferville area as a destination for sportsmen, providing air services to early outfitters. Eventually, Bogie established his own outfitting subsidiary, Laurentian-Ungava Outfitters Ltd., as well as Delay River Outfitters Ltd. to serve hunting and fishing interests.

By the mid-1960s, Laurentian had bases in Ontario and Quebec, at Ottawa, Schefferville, Maniwaki, Lac des Loups and Rapides-des-Joachims.  The company provided services to lumber, mining, fishing and hunting interests, as well as to government. An aircraft engine overhaul shop was set up in Ottawa and Laurentian took on a Cessna Aircraft dealership.

John was known for his management skills and the company was known for its training of employees, maintenance of aircraft and opportunities for advancement of employees. Tim Cole, former COPA Director for British Columbia and the Yukon, who served as Chief Pilot for Laurentian from the 1960s to 1974, has written;

"I met John Bogie in 1967 when I was a young pilot working on my first flying job with Laurentian Air Services. Like many young pilots, John gave me and others the opportunity to progress rapidly within the company and he gave us the skills that enable many young Canadians to go forward with successful lifetime careers in the Canadians aviation industry. John has spent a lifetime contributing to the aviation community."

In 1966, John was elected as a director of the Air Transport Association of Canada (ATAC) and served in that capacity for six years. During that time he moved to increase bilingualism in the company; much of its business was in Quebec. From the early 1970s until 1975, Laurentian maintained an office in Montreal, as well as the office and base in Schefferville.

Bogie had begun buying used Beaver aircraft around the world for resale in Canada. In late 1972, he learned of 64 de Havilland Beavers of the U.S. Army being put up for auction in France. He outbid 54 competitors and bought them all. With partner Colin McOuat, a new company, B.M. Aviation, was formed to rebuild the Beavers and sell the aircraft in Canada. At Lachute, Quebed, they were overhauled, refurbished and sold. One Beaver per month was processed until 1978 when the last 12 were sold 'as is' to Seattle, Washington.

"The Beavers were completely overhauled and painted to the customer's choices," says John's son Iain, who served as chief engineer and operations manager for Laurentian Air Services in Schefferville. When Laurentian established Air Schefferville in 1981 to serve the company's outfitting interests and to provide passenger service as a feeder airline for Quebecair, Iain became president. "By the time the company closed, 105 Beavers had passed through the shop. Most of them came by sea container to Montreal and were ground shipped to Lachute," says Iain. In 1973 John Bogie purchased a Douglas DC-3 from the French air force, registered it in Canada, and operated it for several years in Quebec.

Laurentian Air Services Limited had been incorporated in 1939. In 1998, Air Schefferville was shut down and Laurentian Air Services was dissolved in 2004. During that time John Bogie became a Canadian citizen in 1968. He and Peggy had two sons, Iain and Craig. John and Peggy, who died in 2009, were divorced in 1984 and John's second wife, Penny, whom he married that year, passed away in 2016.