former kensington principal george aiken remembered as patient and caring by students and family
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george aiken, who worked in education in kensington for 40 years, died in early june 2026. since his death, many of his former students have shared their memories of him, remarking that he was someone who always helped out when and where he could.
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when bronwyn clark reminisces with her old classmates about their time at kensington intermediate senior high school, one teacher in particular always comes up in conversation.
george aiken spent 40 years in education, working as a teacher, a vice-principal and, at the time of retiring in 2010, principal of kish. throughout that time, clark remembers him as being one of those teachers that everybody liked. aiken died june 4 at age 77.
career in education
clark, part of the graduating class of 1988, attended school while aiken was vice principal. he was also her teacher for a number of courses, like grade 10 science, grade 11 chemistry and grade 11 and 12 physics.
he was devoted to his work, she said, and it showed; she recalls him once helping her older sister with chemistry homework, even though he wasn’t her teacher.
“he was amazing,” said clark. “he could take very complex chemistry and physics problems and break them down and simplify them and have teenagers engaged. he had a sense of humour, and he was patient, and a very highly intelligent man. i truly think he was a genius.”
after finishing her schooling, clark became a teacher herself. she enjoyed school, particularly high school, and the teachers she had were no small reason why.
george aiken, former teacher, vice principal, and principal in kensington, was one of those teachers everyone seemed to like, said one of his former students.
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aiken was one of her motivations for her own career in education, and he was someone she went to for academic advice during her first year of university.
“i remember when i was in high school, my grads who were in the sciences would often come back to see him at the high school for help with calculus and chemistry and physics and math,” she said. “and he was always willing to tutor people for free. they would just set up shop at the front counter of the office and open the textbook and he’d start helping them with problems.”
her teaching career started at kish, too, working alongside her former teacher. it’s where she did one of her student teaching classes, and where she was hired for one of her first teaching contracts. as a colleague, aiken was professional, always calm, and a giver of good advice.
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when clark found herself facing challenging situations at work, one of the things she would think was: “what would mr. aiken do? how would he handle this situation?”
a teacher and a father
while aiken’s children, robyn macdonald and chris aiken, didn’t attend kish, many of their relatives and friends did and got to call aiken their teacher or principal. macdonald didn’t need to attend her father’s school to understand his passion for teaching, however.
“he helped anyone with their school work, his children, other students, relatives who were taking courses to upgrade,” macdonald wrote in an email to the journal pioneer. “he loved the challenge of putting together a schedule, finding a solution to any tricky situation, or making a connection with a student to help them find their way.”
when aiken began his teaching career in 1970, macdonald said, he did so out of a one-room school house before moving onto kish.
his area of expertise was in the sciences; he taught — and, as macdonald noted, loved — chemistry and physics.
“dad would always say he would teach whatever classes were left after scheduling and staffing,” macdonald said. “dad also taught accounting and math. there are likely other courses over the years.”
george aiken worked in education for 40 years, having been a teacher, vice-principal and principal at kensington intermediate senior high before retiring in 2010.
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dedicated to family
but to his children, aiken wasn’t just a staff member at kish. he was their father.
his passions didn’t start and end with teaching, but carried over to his personal life, particularly to the family farm in stanchel.
“dad would do the morning chores at the farm, then head to school,” said macdonald. “summer days were filled with jobs on the farm, doing hay and silage, grain, fencing and cutting the winter’s wood. he loved the farm as much as teaching.”
chris aiken also remembers his time on the farm, and highlighted it as where he spent some of his favourite moments with his father, and where he learned the most.
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“my favourite memories would be working in the woods,” he wrote. “he would always say we would go out for dinner after the chainsaw ran out of gas. as i was carrying wood out, i’d catch him filling it up again.”
when macdonald thinks of her father, she remembers his patience, his sense of humour, his support in whatever endeavours she and her brother took on. he was “a sound voice of reason,” she said, always willing to share his knowledge and who led by example — an example she strives to follow in her own career.
“he was humble, not a big fan of the spotlight,” said macdonald. “i don’t believe he ever intended to leave a legacy, rather, leave the world a little better than when he found it.”
george aiken’s former students, as well as his children, remember the former kish principal as someone who was always willing to lend a hand to help someone with their homework.
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a lasting impression
even after retiring, aiken didn’t fully leave education behind, but tutored for a bit at holland college.
his love for the career also seemed to pass down to both his children; both of them work as teachers in p.e.i., with macdonald serving as principal of montague regional high school.
following in her father’s footsteps is something macdonald is proud to do.
“dad has been a constant source of support for all of us during our careers,” she said. “we often refer to him as the original google and chatgpt, as he could provide us with answers (or) the right words to say in certain situations.”
since aiken’s death, macdonald and the family have heard from so many people and read so many posts sharing the influence aiken had on them, how much he meant to them as a teacher or principal, and memories of their time at the school, with him giving help whenever and wherever needed.
“it’s rewarding to know that other people have experienced his kindness,” macdonald said. “that we’ve shared him with others and they’ve had the same positive interactions with him that we did.”
kristin gardiner is a reporter for the journal pioneer in prince edward island. she can be reached at kgardiner@postmedia.com.
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