Obituary of Wayne MacDonald

WAYNE MACDONALD 2334 Church Street, Westville, NS The Death of (Alexander) Wayne MacDonald, youngest son of the late Duncan MacDonald and the late Myrtle (McKay) MacDonald occurred on Dec 28, 2019 at the Halifax Infirmary. It is a devastating blow to our family. A much loved husband, father, brother, uncle, colleague and friend, Wayne’s passing will be difficult for many to bear. His was a life well lived. Growing up as a part of his sister Mae Lynch’s family he was more a brother than an uncle to his nieces and nephews. His youth was spent on academics and playing local hockey. As a teen Wayne joined YCS and hitch-hiked to Sydney, NS to attend conferences. A graduate of the carpentry program at PRVS (now NSCC Pictou Campus) his wish was to come back one day and teach his trade – and he did in 1990 until retirement in 2018. After his PRVS graduation he continued his studies and subsequently received his journeyman papers and proceeded to make a life with his trade. He worked on many projects throughout his career, starting out at a very young age as the Project Manager for the Alma Community Centre. In later years he moved on to become the Foreman of the Carpenter and Joiner shop at Ferguson Industries Shipyard in Pictou NS. In 1983 Wayne and his wife Lynn moved their family to Iqaluit NU where they lived for seven years. During this time Wayne was first employed by the NWT Housing Corporation as a Project Manager responsible for overseeing the building of new homes in northern settlements around Baffin Island although he also covered a territory that included Grise Fiord, Canada’s most northern settlement, to Sanikiluaq in the Belcher Islands, southern most part of the Hudson Bay. In this position he oversaw the plans for new housing in various settlements, reviewed sealift orders for building materials, carried out inspections during the building process, up to and including a one year inspection after the projects were completed. Wishing to leave all that northern travel behind Wayne accepted a position as the Manager of the Iqaluit Housing Authority - which owned 300 public housing units. As with any community that he lived in, Wayne was an active community leader – becoming involved in the Iqaluit Elks Lodge where he attained the position of Exalted Ruler, the President and Executive Officer of the Lodge. At that time the Iqaluit Lodge was known in Canada as the one who raised the most money for the hearing impaired, the special cause to which the Elks donated money at that time. With a small group of volunteers he build a community hall for the Catholic church in Iqaluit, served as the President of the newly formed Iqaluit Rate Payers Association, and served on the lqaluit Fire Department. During his years in Iqaluit Wayne continued his education thru McGill University and the Ontario Fire School. Returning to NS with his family in 1990 Wayne trained at the NS Teacher’s College in Truro while teaching carpentry in Stellarton. His first class project was to construct a building at the Hector Quay. Years after this he gave his summer vacation time to ready the Hector for its launch and participated in the day the ship side slipped into the Pictou Harbour. Next he and his students build houses for the NS Housing Authority. They built a new kitchen for an elementary school in the north end of Halifax. Again and again Wayne involved himself and his students in community projects with the idea of making things better for people while teaching students their trade and the integrity of doing something for others. In the 1990’s Wayne served on the Town Council of Westville. He helped the United Way when they were building a house to raffle as a fundraiser and gave numerous hours to the Pictou County Military Heritage Museum. Preparing for retirement Wayne remodeled a building he and Lynn owned in Stellarton and with his daughter Beth and son-in-law Alden started a taproom and microbrewery spending time behind the bar serving people from Pictou County, Nova Scotia and far beyond. Wayne is survived by his wife Lynn (MacInnis), daughters and sons-in-law Carly and Stephen MacDonald, Beth and Alden Leadbetter and six grandchildren. He is also survived by his brothers and their spouses Duncan and Marie MacDonald, Bill and Sylvia MacDonald, and Allen and Fern MacDonald, as well as many nieces and nephews. Wayne was predeceased by his Mother and Father, a brother Alexander, sister Mae (Bernie) Lynch, a niece Cheryl Lynch a nephew Terry Lynch and brother -in-law Bernie Lynch His remains are resting at the HC MacQuarrie Funeral Chapel, Stellarton, NS. Visitation Thursday 7 - 9 pm, Friday 2 - 4 pm and 7 -9 pm. His funeral mass will be held at Holy Name Church Westville at 11 am Saturday, with a reception immediately following mass at the Westville Fire Hall. Family flowers only - In memory of Wayne please make a donation to the Student Urgency Fund NSCC Pictou Campus, or the NSCC Foundation, Halifax NS. www.angusfuneralhomes.com