Richard Norman Rafuse

Dick was born and raised in Bridgewater. In his younger years he was gifted athlete – captain of the high school hockey team, member of the volleyball team, skip of the curling team, national schoolboy curling champion, and an avid sailor.

He attended Dalhousie University for his undergraduate commerce degree and went on to attend law school where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Pi fraternity. He articled in Toronto at Blake Cassels and returned to practice law in Halifax with Kitz Matheson. He was a talented, colourful and well-liked lawyer, admired for his business and insolvency counsel for 50 years. He was involved in management at Kitz Matheson and its successors which included Patterson Kitz, Patterson Palmer and ultimately McInnes Cooper. He served on the Board of Directors at McInnes Cooper where he played an important leadership role in the risk and audit committee. Dick was a “character” in the sense that his outsized, and at times, eccentric personality made him a much beloved colleague, mentor and ambassador of the firm. His practise philosophy revolved around relationships with valued clients. He warmly and generously introduced junior colleagues to his well served family of clients which bred confidence in a lawyer’s development of their career. In the latter years of his practice, he focused on insolvency work in the Caribbean. Dick did not require recognition – he just wanted everyone to arrive at the right place and achieve the best results for the firms’ clients.

He was active in the community. He was passionate about, and committed to the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron for nearly 60 years. Dick served in various roles on the board of management including as Commodore 1987-88. It was during his tenure as Commodore that the club underwent a major expansion with the construction of the wardroom and the expansion of the breakwater. He was the driving force behind many fundraising initiatives including paralympic sailing (Dick’s Deck), junior sailing and numerous Marblehead to Halifax Races. One of his proudest moments was winning the Prince Of Whales Trophy aboard his C&C 41 “Illicit” that he co-owned with Dave Sullivan. In recent years, he so looked forward to his regular lunches with his buddies at the round table at the club. He obtained his lifetime membership with RNSYS just this year. The family tradition of sailing is carried on with his son, James and his granddaughter, Gabrielle.

Dick was always interested in young people’s education. He took great pride in the stewardship of the scholarship that was established to honor his late sister, Anne. The scholarship is awarded to deserving students who graduate from Bridgewater High, now Parkview Education Centre, who will be attending Dalhousie University.

Pops loved to spend his Saturday mornings sharing coffee and treats with his grandchildren, Gabrielle and Genevieve, so he could catch up on their academics and various interests. Dick and Wendy loved to entertain and are well known for some of their legendary parties over the years. He will be missed by us all.

Dick is predeceased by his mother Eileen, father Robert and sister Anne. He is survived by his wife, Wendy Johnston, son James (Renee), grandchildren Gabrielle and Genevieve, and daughter Lori (Gabe Minnikin). We are wishing our favourite sailor fair winds and following seas. Donations gratefully accepted to the Anne B. Rafuse Memorial Scholarship Trust. A celebration of Dick’s life will be held at the Saraguay House, 2310 Purcells Cove Rd on May 8th, 2025 from 4-7 p.m.