by Jennifer Pritchett
Northern News Services

RANKIN INLET (Dec 03/97) - Former Yellowknifer Ian Todd, son of Finance Minister John Todd, died in a house fire near Cornwall, Ont., around 7 a.m. on Sunday.

The 29-year-old former Rankin Inlet resident was staying in the town of Lancaster, taking flying lessons to get his commercial pilot's licence.

Ontario Provincial Police Const. Hugh McClements said five men in their early 20s were in the house. They were awakened by a smoke alarm around 6:30 a.m. A neighbor telephoned police a few minutes later.

Four of the young men escaped but a fifth body was found following the blaze.

"I'm not at liberty to identify the body," said McClements on Monday. Family members confirmed, however, that Ian Todd was fifth man in the house.

A post-mortem was done on the body at the Ottawa General Hospital. Foul play is not suspected.

The eldest of four sons, Todd started school in Rankin Inlet in the 1970s and lived in the community until he went to high school in Grimsby, Ont. During his high school years, Rankin Inlet remained his home and where he spent his summers.

Donald Clark, principal of Maani Ulujuk Ilinniarvik high school, taught Todd when he was in junior high. He remembers him as someone who lived life to the fullest.

His fondest memory of Todd is when the pair travelled to Florida on a hockey tournament.

"He was the only one that would drive (there) -- it was great having someone that would take a risk," Clark said. "He would do anything for you. And he was great fun to be with. That's what I'll remember most about him."

While he said Todd wasn't particularly strong academically, he was someone who was going places in life.

"He did realize that he needed an education (to succeed)," he said. "And he was getting himself all straightened away -- training as a pilot."

Ada McGillivary, Todd's mother, and the rest of the family will be in Rankin Inlet today for a funeral scheduled for this evening at Maani Ulujuk Ilinniarvik high school.