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He was a champion of the city’s pathway system and a leader in parks and conservation nationwide. The Bill Milne Trail in Kananaskis is named for the Calgary architect, whom the late Peter Lougheed credited for the vision of separating the park west of the city into both a recreational area and park area.

So, when Milne died in 2008 at the age of 84, his obituary noted these and other accomplishments. Why, though, did it not mention that he was also the architect behind one of the city’s most iconic structures?

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“Because it wasn’t his design,” explained his widow Lorraine on a recent day. “I knew Bill wouldn’t want me to write that, as it would be dishonest to the actual architect.”

According to the woman who was married to Milne for more than a half-century, news reports over the years have often incorrectly credited Milne with the final work that was opened to the public on June 30, 1968.

“He got the whole thing off the ground,” said Lorraine Milne. “He was glad it was going to be built, but he certainly wished they had used his design.”