RCMP Cst. Derek T. Ivany

RCMP Cst. Derek T. Ivany, 24

Cst. Ivany was from Grand Falls, Newfoundland. At nineteen years of age, he went to St. John’s and joined the RCMP in October of 1966. After graduating from Depot Division, he was posted to Petitcodiac, New Brunswick, where he met and married Elaine Waterbury. His second posting was to Campbellton, New Brunswick. Not long after this transfer, Elaine was expecting their first child, and in June 1971, went into Soldiers’ Hospital in Campbellton for the delivery. On Friday, June 18, she gave birth to a son by caesarean section, but, sadly, the boy lived for only a few hours.

Elaine says, “Derek saw to the funeral arrangements of our son and came to see me every night when he came off work.”

The following Thursday, Derek came to the hospital to visit Elaine and then left to go out on duty. At 11:00 pm that night, after completing an investigation into a fatal motor vehicle accident, he received a report of a shooting on the Eel River Bar Indian Reserve. Because of the serious nature of the reported incident, Cst. Ivany got into his cruiser and sped away in the direction of the reserve. He turned on his siren and was rolling down Highway #275 one mile west of St. Arthur when he came to a steep hill.

Unfortunately, Cst. Ivany didn’t know that on the other side of the hill there was a blind curve that peeled away sharply to the left. When he came over the crest of the hill and realised how tight a turn he had to negotiate, it was too late. Attempting to steer through the curve, Cst. Ivany caught his outside wheels on the loose gravel of the shoulder of the road sending his car out of control his cruiser was thrown into a violent fishtailing skid and flipped over several times before rolling off the highway. When help finally got to the scene of the demolished police car, Cst. Ivany was rushed to the hospital in Campbellton. Cst. Ivany was pronounced dead at 2:00 am Friday morning, exactly a week apart from the death of their son. The funeral service was held at Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Grand Falls, Newfoundland. Derek’s parents three brothers and three sisters were among the throng of mourners. After the service, the young constable was buried in the Anglican Cemetery at Grand Falls.

IN THE LINE OF DUTY – The Honour Roll of the RCMP since 1873.