Born in Shubenacadie, Hants Co., he was the son of the late Dudley and Lena (nee Ward) of Stanley and Brooklyn, respectively. His formative and happy years were spent playing with his brother in Moose River, Halifax Co., as his father moved the family there to work for the Higgins Lawlor Mine.
The last remaining child, he was predeceased by his brother, Kenneth and sister, Patricia (Patsy), and also by his son Bryon and grandsons Mark and Allan. He is survived by his three children, his youngest and undoubting daughter, Angela, his eldest and caring daughter, Nancy and his sincere and oldest son, Alec.
As a young teen he dabbled in construction with his older brother, Ken and mechanics with his father, Dudley. Very early he began his curiosity for life-long learning. While continuing to work and support a young family, he took the initiative to educate himself after hours, studying the International Correspondence Course in Electronics and later HVAC and Refrigeration, to name a few.
Donald proved himself an exceptional problem solver in his work and interests. He was employed in television and appliance repair, worked for several years with Warner’s Radio & Repair and with Pye Electronics, where he installed communications equipment for the Halifax Police Department. As a key technician for the company, he was often on-call 24/7 and travelled to Moncton for the installation of antennas for the new microwave system and was involved with the initialization of new technologies of that era. After opening his own business for a time in the metro area, he sought employment with the Department of National Defence as a civilian radio technician. He was involved in ship retrofits requiring additional physical risk in his occupation, climbing the sides of ships and from our understanding without the safety equipment of today. If no one else could figure out how to fix something, the job was given to him. After a challenging career, he retired in the mid-eighties and moved to Stewiacke, Colchester Co. to live in the country.
Our father was always a hard physical worker but became an avid weight lifter in his 30’s when he was told he would eventually not be able to walk. That would not suffice; he not only healed his back but became stronger than anyone we knew personally at any age. He could still lift 100 lbs over his head at the age of 89.
Impressively, his sense of humour and quick wit remained with him as did his insight and the way he would ‘hit the nail on the head’ both literally and metaphorically. He had a sparkle in his eye and was always interesting no matter the story. His hobbies included amateur (ham) radio, home construction, vehicle and engine building and repair of any size, including building his own lawn mowers into his 80‘s. As our relative stated, ‘Donnie spent many happy hours out in the garage’, of course working on his many vehicles. He collaborated with family and friends on projects and taught his then teen daughter, Nancy, how to fix the car, saying, ‘If you‘re going to drive the car, you‘re gonna learn how to fix it.‘
Donnie loved his vehicles. He was partial to his ‘66 Plymouth Valiant (light blue) which incidentally, drove like a tank. He owned two Winnebago’s and travelled Canada and the States, taking Angela as a young child and others on the road with him on his adventures. He bought a motorcycle to ride into his 60’s and in his 80’s decided to buy a manual transmission again because he missed driving a standard.
He loved nature and wild animals and had a sweet place in his heart for such. He loved a brisk walk, going to the park, looking for birds and being outside any time of the year. He would shovel his entire huge driveway or do heavy work in the yard for hours and was always looking for more to do. Music and dancing were other pleasures and he especially loved the old country classics, notably, Patsy Cline. He enjoyed a good game of cards, good laughs and company, and later in life his tea and cookies. Cake or pie was the best though.
Our Dad was a man who was always on the go and we could barely keep up with him. He had more energy than anyone; that is who he was. He was from the strongest of stock, like his mother and father and he was a force throughout his entire life. For the last four months and ten days he fought severe and excruciating pain and further injury to the site and so many obstacles, we don’t know anyone else who could have tried any harder to beat the odds than our father. We love you Dad and we are so proud of you.
He leaves a large extended family behind. We are thankful for family support presently and over the past many months, especially Judy (NY), Gary (NS) and Jack (NS).
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