Richard Douglas Haley

Age 50, of Bedford passed away Friday May 22nd, 2015. Richard was born in Halifax, 1964.

Richard always loved the water, whether it be a river, a brook, the ocean or the sea. In his childhood he enjoyed visiting his Uncle Phil’s and Aunt Donna’s farm in Windsor and swimming at the “salmon hole”. In his teens he would spend summers with his friend Gary Butler at the Butler’s cottage near Queen’s Land Beach.

When Richard was sixteen he started working as a tender operator at BBYC and taking sailing lesson there as well. Richard graduated from Halifax West High School in 1982 and knew exactly the career he wanted. His uncle Murray thought he should join the Air Force; the Canadian Navy was always Richard’s plan. Just after his 19th birthday, on June 23rd, 1983 he joined as a Reservist, and then continued his faithful service as a lifelong member of the Canadian Navy with over 31 years of service. Richard was true Navy; happiest when serving his country at sea.

Richard was a Sonar Op by trade. While on HMSC FRASER Richard was among the more elite and envied crews in the fleet. FRASER was fitted with some of the most advanced and experimental sonar systems in the world; all at a time where the cold war was still a real and serious reality. Later, FRASER would be the first Canadian Ship sent to enforce UN sanctions against Haiti. Between Oct 1993 and Mar 1994 she assisted in and conducted 73 boardings and 450 hailings; spending 134 days on station. The contributions made by FRASER assisted in completing the UN mission by maintaining security and stability and returning the island to constitutional rule. He wore that medal proudly on his chest. Richard completed 5 NATO deployments during his sailing days.

On his last NATO deployment in 1998 aboard the HMCS MONTREAL, Richard was now a PO1 and was the Anti-Submarine Warfare Director and Senior Sonar Operator onboard. Richard and his counterpart would work tirelessly sometimes 16 hours a day, each and every day, diligently organizing drills and exercises that would later result in much high praise from the German admiralty for the work his ship did and did so astonishingly well. Work that he was so proud of having such a major part in personally. He wore the NATO Special Service Medal proudly on his chest.

During OP APOLLO 2003 Richard served as Combat Chief on the Canadian Flag Ship HMSC IROQUOIS in the Middle East as part of Canada’s continued Naval Contribution to the War on Terrorism after the events of 9/11. For his dedication of contribution to OP APOLLO Richard was awarded the Southwest Asia Service Medal which he proudly wore on his chest. Richard’s last posting was as Unit Chief in the Acoustic Data Analysis Centre (Atlantic).

He was well respected and known for his meticulous bookkeeping, recording keeping and briefings. He will be sadly missed by his shipmates and all who knew him during his Canadian Naval career.

Richard married Jo-Ann (Barrett) in 1990 and five years later became a father. Matthew Richard Haley was born 1995. To say Richard was a proud father; well one could be no prouder. Richard passed his greatest loves and passions on to his son. Lego building, model trains, fire truck station runs/tours, and his love of the water and boats; Matthew learned how to steer his father’s Cape Islander when he was three.

Then came the love of history and politics, how to grow a garden and shoot a BB gun, (with safety goggles of course). When it became time for Matthew to work as a tender operator at BBYC his father taught him how to drive the tender, use the crane for lifting boats in and out of the water, drive the tractor and taught him what is required to be a valuable resource to his employer. Richard set a firm foundation for Matthew and was proud of all his accomplishments, his high academic achievements, and the man he had become.

Richard was a strong believer in volunteering; he would not ask anyone to do anything he would not do himself and was the first to jump in to help. He joined the Bedford Volunteer Fire Department in May, 1992 and served his community with over 20 years of services as a Firefighter/Engineer; usually driving the truck, which he loved. He was also a member and long-time volunteer serving many years as Vice Commodore of Operations at BBYC. This was a position he took very seriously and if there was something that needed to be done he did not stand back. Whether that be saving a boat adrift or a marina coming apart in a storm, and of course everything was documented.

Richard is survived by his son, Matthew, his wife Jo-Ann; parents Fred and Marie (MacDougall), sister Catherine (Kayelin), brother David (Robin), father and mother in-law Keith and Heather Barrett, brother in-law Michael (Lorraine), brother in-law Andrew, nieces Brianna, Rebecca, nephews Tyree, Cameron, Douglas and Johnathan. Funeral Services will be held at Bedford United Church on Tuesday, June 2nd at 2 pm. Reception will follow at the Church. Burial will be at a later date. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to APSEA Scholarship Fund for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.