Peter Stringer

Dr. Peter Stringer passed away peacefully at the age of 90 after a brief hospitalization on April 7, 2021 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Born on March 18, 1931 in Warrington, Lancashire, England to parents Frank and Edith Stringer. He was preceded in birth by his sister Barbara (dec. 1983) and followed by Patricia and Anne. He attended Stockton Heath Council School and then Ellesmere College where his geography teacher first interested him in geology. He graduated BSc Honours Class I in Geology at the University of Liverpool in 1953. Delayed for a year by a serious motorcycle accident, he graduated PhD at Liverpool University in 1958. He was awarded a Saskatoon Research Council post-doctoral fellowship in 1957 at Saskatoon University during which he mapped Precambrian Shield rocks in northern Saskatchewan accessed by float plane and canoe. Employment in oil exploration in western Canada followed, including summer field work in the Rocky Mountains, accessed on horseback and by helicopter. He returned to England in 1961, where he was employed by the National Coal Board Opencast Executive until 1965 and then by the Gas Council London until 1970. From 1970 to 1996 he was a geology professor at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) in Fredericton, Canada.

Peter met Eunice Chen, a librarian at UNB, in 1973 and they were married later that year in Grappenhall Church in Cheshire, England. Peter’s great love was his family, especially his beloved wife Eunice and children Elizabeth and John. His children remember a childhood filled with Peter’s interests which included astronomy, classical music, early jazz, history, etymology, literature, and of course geology - all of which he keenly shared with them. Peter was an avid walker walking 100’s of kilometers of trails in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the Mississauga area where Eunice’s family lived. The family went on many adventures together including a month long cross-Canada train trip planned by Peter and visits to his family in England during his sabbaticals at UNB.

Later in life, Peter became a proud “Granddad” to Kayah and Ari, the daughters of John and his much- loved daughter-in-law Beata Patlewicz Stringer. In 2015, Peter and Eunice moved to Halifax to be closer to Elizabeth and her son Adrian, living just down the street from them. The grandchildren have many fond memories of their Granddad including dancing to impromptu Boogie Woogie sessions played by him on the piano. Beata and John, world-travelers, have lived abroad since 2007 but have spent their summers in Fredericton and Halifax bringing the whole family together annually. Sadly, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they have not been able to return to Canada from Hong Kong since 2019.

Peter will be very much missed by his sisters Anne and Patricia in England, with whom he regularly spoke and reminisced with, particularly over the last several years. He has many nephews and nieces who will fondly remember their “Uncle Peter” and he will be missed by his many friends in Fredericton and Halifax as well as family and friends from across the globe.

The family would like to thank the compassionate health care providers who cared for Peter, particularly on 6A at the Victoria General Hospital. We would also like to thank family and friends for their support at this difficult time. A celebration of Peter’s life will be held this summer when the family can hopefully be together. We hope to return Peter’s ashes to his home in England when travel is permitted. While Peter was in Canada for over 50 years, he always considered England his home.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to World Land Trust (www.worldlandtrust.org) in remembrance of Peter.