Victor Ronald Dawson

Victor was born in 1931 in Sydney to Sylvester Dawson of Bay Roberts, Newfoundland and Theresa Murphy of St John’s, Newfoundland. Victor lost his father, Sylvester, in 1940 to a post operative pneumonia. His mother, Theresa, spared no effort to provide for Victor and his older sister Pam, largely through her work as a highly skilled seamstress. Theresa ensured that Victor and his sister maintained a strong connection with their extended family in Newfoundland.

Vic grew up on the corner of Muggah Street and Victoria Road. Victor had a fondness for animals, and his family had a remarkable number of pets in their upstairs apartment. He also spent much time with his friends at the nearby Gillis stable yard, where he developed an appreciation for pigeons. In his youth, victor worked part time jobs in the Sydney Steel Plant.

Victor studied economics and commerce at St. FX in the late 1940s. Victor had the opportunity to move to the big city of Montreal after his graduation, but chose to remain in Sydney out of loyalty to his mother Tess (Nana), who had sacrificed so much to raise her two children on her own after the early death of her husband Sylvester. Nana continued to live with him, and then with his own family, until her death in 1974.

Victor worked in the business office at Sydney Steel, and was catapulted into the nascent field of business computing in the 1960s, when he and his colleagues were forced to salvage a malfunctioning computer system after the hasty departure of the experts from overseas who had implemented it. By the beginning of the 1970s, with his largely self-taught computing skills, he moved into teaching business data processing at the Eastern Institute of Technology.

After early retirement at the age of 60, Victor moved on with his wife Olive to nearly two decades of community service, building a welcoming volunteer organisation under the auspices of the St. Theresa's parish chapter of the St. Vincent De Paul Society. During these years, this organisation not only focused on supplying the physical needs of food, clothing and furniture within the local community, but also created a space where many former clients would become volunteers and develop a sense of purpose and community.

Vic and Olive loved to skate, and this was one of the bonds that brought them together to start a family of their own in 1964. A favourite memory of their children is to recall them gliding arm in arm around the Sydney Forum amidst the chaos of Sunday afternoon family skating, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding chairs, hockey sticks, crying children fallen on their behinds, and almost every imaginable obstacle.

Vic and Olive fostered a great love of the outdoors in their children, and provided them innumerable opportunities to enjoy long walks on woodland trails all over Cape Breton, and to see the rest of Canada on road trips from Newfoundland to the Pacific Rim National Park in their beloved Yellow Camper Van.

The most magical opportunity provided by Vic and Olive for their children was spending entire summers at their modest cottage on Isle Madame. Vic loved to maintain a small flotilla of wooden row-boats that his children used to explore the nearby islands and have endless adventures, albeit followed by the watchful glint of binoculars from the shore. Every spring, Vic would slather on more fibreglass and epoxy until the original wooden boats had almost completely vanished.

Although Victor was born in Sydney, he always considered himself a Newfoundlander, loved his Harry Hibbs records, and treated (or tormented) his family with his mercifully infrequent productions of Fish and Brewis.

Vic and Olive were able to remain independent well into their mid-eighties, travelling to their summer home in Poulamon without assistance. Although Vic gradually lost much of his short-term memory over his final decade, he was spared many of the worst effects often associated with dementia. His intense intellect eventually mellowed and softened, but he never became uncertain about his place in the world and his family. In his final years, Vic developed an enviable serenity, and took great pleasure in the simple things in life: his morning paper, a good breakfast, a warm heating pad behind his back, a good shoulder rub, and above all, the company of his family. To the end, his eyes always lit up when he saw his granddaughter, Katie.

Victor was predeceased by his parents Sylvester and Theresa, his sister Lenora Pamela Paruch and brother-in law Michael Paruch, and his granddaughters Kiley and Monica.

Victor will be fondly remembered by Olive (LeBlanc), his wife of 59 years; his children Ronald (Janet), Patrick, Brian (Nickolus), and Monique (Gordie); his much-loved granddaughter Kaitlynn; and his extended family, friends, and all those touched by his generosity over the various stages of his life. The family would especially like to express thanks for the caring assistance of Frances Hall and Anne Vassallo, who provided so much comfort and cheer to his household during his final year.

There will be a visitation for Victor on Tuesday, July 25th between 4pm and 7pm at T.W. Curry Parkview Chapel in Sydney.

A funeral mass for Victor will be held Wednesday, July 26th at 10:00am St. Theresa’s church, 381 Whitney Ave., Sydney with Fr. Evo Di Pierro. A reception will immediately follow at St. Theresa’s parish hall. Interment in Resurrection Cemetery. Memories and condolences may be shared with the family by visiting www.twcurry.com.