Denis William Salter

– Denis Salter, 2008

It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden and unexpected death of Denis William Salter at his home in Montreal on Friday, April 22, 2022, at the age of 73.

Beloved husband of Susan “Susie” Still; father of Nicholas (Ariella), Anna (Hector), and Natasha; and grandpa to Lior and other grandchildren he looked forward to meeting soon; Denis will be deeply missed by dear family and friends, near and far, who felt the warmth of his intellect, and thoughtful smile, often with a twinkle in his eye. He and Susie recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

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Born in Princeton, British Columbia, to parents Vera Eve and Arthur Salter, Denis grew up in remote mining communities, where he completed much of his grade school education in a one-room schoolhouse. As the only child at home–his stepsiblings Dorothy and Brian being much older–and with few recreational activities nearby, Denis developed an intense love of reading and a keen interest in observing the people and places around him. Decades later, he would fondly recall the complete set of the Encyclopædia Britannica that his father had given him at age 12, a venerable gift which he carried with him from place to place in his adult life and later shared with his own children: “Let knowledge grow from more to more and thus be human life enriched”. Those of us who know Denis certainly came to appreciate the great comfort it gave him to be surrounded by books! And more books! As an ardent supporter of Denis’s love of learning, his father would spend Sundays helping him collect empty bottles around the mining camp, leftover from the weekend’s parties; they would thoughtfully invest the earnings in a Canada Savings Bond for Denis’s future education. Denis, himself, would later spend his summers working in the mines to further fund his undergraduate degree in the English Department at the University of British Columbia.

It is there, at UBC, that he acquired his lifelong passion for theatre, and met Susie, who was attracted to Denis’s avid enthusiasm for the arts; as a nineteen-year-old, he impressed her by spontaneously reciting a Shakespearean sonnet to cheer her up after her long day in the lab!? They would go on to support each other in the pursuit of their respective studies at the University of Toronto (MA/PhD for Denis and MD for Susie), taking turns paying each other’s way in their professional journey from Toronto to Halifax to Calgary (where they started their family) and eventually to Montreal, where Denis joined the Drama and Theatre Division of the English Department at McGill University. As a dedicated scholar and teacher, he cared deeply about impeccable research and writing, fostering collaboration and collegiality within and outside of academia–and encouraging students to do the same–supporting local theatre companies in Montreal and across the country, and, above all else, practicing good pedagogy.

Denis loved teaching and was always up for taking on new challenges, even towards the end of his career. He was especially proud of some of the courses he taught during his final years at McGill related to political and Indigenous theatre, informed and enriched by his work with alt.theatre: cultural diversity and the stage magazine over the years, working closely with dear colleagues who, like many others he met through the world of theatre, became lifelong friends. An innovative and caring teacher, he said his last semester of teaching, before retiring in 2021, was especially wonderful, despite Zoom! Shortly before retiring, he had the honour of receiving the Canadian Association for Theatre Research Lifetime Achievement Award for his work on Canadian theatre and “extensive scholarship celebrating the history and character of theatre in Canada”, exploring themes of “multiculturalism and diversity, indigeneity, and gender in both historical and theoretical contexts.” (https://catracrt.ca/dr-denis-w-salter/)

Although he lived in many places across Canada, Denis was especially drawn to the East Coast. He loved spending time with Susie and his kids, together with family and friends, at their beloved cottage on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, his home away from home since the early 1980s. No matter how much time he spent there, he never tired of watching the ever-changing moods of the shore, the sea, and the sky with Susie from their deck. His presence there will be deeply missed, and always felt, by all those who had the pleasure of enjoying a tranquil afternoon with him by the sea, listening to the sounds of the bay and braving the cold Atlantic for a swim together.

Donations can be made in Denis’s memory to the following organizations/initiatives he supported (please see donation section below for links):

Teesri Duniya Theatre Co.

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

The Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Fund

Welcome Hall Mission

Or any other organization which you think Denis would have liked to support. Thank you!