It is with bittersweet sadness that we announce the passing of Ray Carman of Halifax, Nova Scotia, on the morning of Friday, November 6th, 2020, aged 94.
Ray left the world, at peace, after a battle with Parkinson’s Disease and complications from a fall in the spring of this year, caused in no small part by the stoic, willful and stubborn independence that was his trademark throughout his long and healthy life.
Born and raised in Montreal,QC., the first son of Raymond Carman and Elizabeth Anne St. George Thompson, Ray was a loving (and feisty) older brother to his siblings Christopher, Anne and Ardley. He often recalled that his fondest memories of childhood were of his family’s steamship trips back to England, and the train tours from London to the country homes of his many aunts and uncles. These kindled a lifelong bond to his ancestry in the British Isles and his extended family around the world.
Ray was a mutinous high school student by the time the family relocated to North Hatley in the Eastern Townships of Quebec after the death of his father in 1944. He volunteered for service in World War II at the age of 17 and was finally accepted on his 18th birthday. His training as a gunner left him with a slight hearing loss, which to his surprise resulted in a military pension many years later.
Ray completed his interrupted senior year of high school at Bishops College School, graduating in 1947. The autumn of that year saw his return to Montreal, when and where he entered into a life of many sales and management careers.
Over the next 50 years, Ray proudly hung his shingle at Colonial Airlines & Trans Canada Airlines, stints as Eastern & Western sales managers at Dominion Wire Rope & Cable Co. from 1965 to 1983, was V.P of Burnside Ropes & Slings in Halifax, before finishing his working life as a career counsellor for the consulting firm KPMG. His positions in sales saw him travel across Canada and provided opportunities to foster the lifelong friendships made at each stop along the way.
Outside of work, Ray enjoyed curling, brewing beer and making wine, and kept a clean and orderly work bench for the DIY craftmanship he enjoyed so much. He and his Mother enjoyed tracing and cataloguing their family ancestry, up until her death at age 102.
It was in 1950 that Ray both found and met his match. Corinne May Garneau, after a blind introduction at a golf course in North Hatley. She chose him as her partner—for golf, as they were quick to remind each other, —because he had had the best and longest drive. They were married October 4th, 1952, and together shared their world until her death on December 31st, 2010. She matched him in wit, independence and determination—a modern woman ahead of her time—and in Corinne, Ray found his champion, his foil, his critic and his biggest fan. Together they moved the family to Halifax in 1970 and soon fell in with fun loving ex-Montrealers, Halifax Curling Club members and distant relatives, all who all became like family. Ray volunteered with The Mining Society, The Voluntary Planning Board, and St.Paul’s Anglican Church, serving as Warden for two terms.
After Corinne’s death, Ray began the final chapter of his life in Halifax where he flourished in his independence—under the attentive eyes and ears of their five daughters: Beth, Cathy, Judi, Lee and DeeDee. He became an accomplished home chef, and remained an active member of St. Paul’s. His adoption of digital technology was a boon to his lifelong correspondences, and revelled in his connection to the past, the present and the future that his home office computer enriched him with.
Ray is survived by his sister Ardley and sister in law Suzie, both of Montreal. He will be deeply missed by daughters Beth (Ken Davidson) of Halifax, Cathy of Toronto, Judi of Halifax, Lee (John DiFonzo) of Toronto, DeeDee (Patrick Poitras) of Wakefield, QC, and by grandchildren Jason, Lauren, and Alexander Lindsay, Zachary Mykula, Joshua DiFonzo, Isabella and Noah Poitras, and by great-grandchildren Lily and Jacob and their mother Lindsay Uman. Pappy will be dearly missed and forever loved by many cousins, nieces and nephews. He is pre-deceased by Corinne, son Peter (1957), and by siblings Chris and Anne.
Visitation with refreshments will be held at Snows Funeral Home, 339 Lacewood Drive, Halifax on Thursday, November 12th, from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm. Donations may be made to St. Paul’s Cathedral in Halifax. Due to Covid 19 restrictions a celebration of Ray’s life will be held at a later date, to be announced. The family would like to thank the wonderful Nurses and all the staff at the Veterans Memorial Hospital for taking care of our Dad/Pappy in his final months.
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