Gordon Francis Coles

COLES, Gordon F., QC - It is with ve­ry heavy hearts that the family of Gor­don F. Coles, Q.C., aged 83, announces his peaceful passing after a brief ill­ness. Gordon will be deeply missed by his loving wife of 55 years, Barbara (Anthony) Coles. Gordon and Bar­bara were blessed with four wonder­ful children - Da­vid Coles (Lisa Caínes), Derrick Coles (Dawn), Donna Shewfelt (Don) and Doug Coles (Jacque­line). He was a wonderful Gram­pie to his grand­sons - Bobby, Daniel, Eliot and Ewen Coles, and Richard, Mitchell and An­drew Shewfelt. Grampie was so very proud of all his grandsons and loved nothing more than sharing news of a scholastic achievement, sporting ac­complishment or a special interest of these boys. He was a strong presence in all of their lives. Gordon’s wife, chil­dren, grandchildren, extended family, friends and colleagues were very for­tunate to have shared in his remarka­ble life. Gordon was a son of the late William G. and Lillian Coles. He was predeceased by his brothers, Howard and George and his sister, Edith Coles. Gordon is survived by his sisters, Jes­sie Farell and Gertrude Nickerson; his brother, Walter Coles and half-sister, Evelyn Keddy. Gordon’s public life was one of academic and professional achievement and public and commu­nity service. Gordon graduated from Queen Elizabeth High School where he was Head Boy. He obtained numer­ous scholarships that enabled him to attend the University of King’s Col­lege, Dalhousie University Law School and to complete post-graduate studies in International Law at the London School of Economics, London, England. Gordon served as a Captain, commanding tanks with the Halifax Rifles. Gordon began his professional career as a partner in the Halifax law firm, Smith & Coles. After 20 years of private practice, Gordon was appoint­ed Deputy Attorney General and Dep­uty Provincial Secretary for the Prov­ince of Nova Scotia and served under both the Liberal and Progressive Con­servative Governments and seven At­torneys General. In later years, Gor­don was appointed Deputy Minister Inter-Governmental Affairs and Con­stitutional Advisor to the Nova Scotia government. Gordon participated in several Uniform Law Conferences, travelling with learned colleagues who became dear friends. He was ac­companied by his wife, Barbara, in his travels that took them to exciting ci­ties in Canada, the United States and Europe. The pinnacle of Gordon’s le­gal career was his success, before the Supreme Court of Canada, as Counsel for Nova Scotia, ensuring that the Fed­eral Government would require the consent of certain provinces in 'pa­triating' Canada’s Constitution from the United Kingdom Parliament. He continued to work as Constitutional Advisor to the Province to draft amendments to the Canadian Consti­tution resulting in the Constitution Act including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Gordon was an internationally recognized expert in constitutional law and later returned to England to participate in a lecture and seminar program in advanced le­gal studies at Cambridge University and the University of Strasbourg in France. Gordon enjoyed his retire­ment years keeping abreast of politi­cal and legal issues; watching and en­couraging his children and grandsons to thrive, and gardening with Barbara in their spectacular backyard. Sport played a huge part in Gordon’s life as a participant, and in later years, as a huge fan of both professional and amateur sport. His community ser­vice included the establishment of tennis courts, YMCA programs, sum­mer camps for kids and bicycle pro­grams. Of course Gordon could al­ways be found on the sidelines or in the stands when his grandsons were playing. In lieu of flowers, Gordon would appreciate a donation to any children’s sport program to help fos­ter his lifelong joy of sport. An oppor­tunity for family, friends and col­leagues to express their condolences will be held at a later date. Gordon en­joyed a long, healthy and outstanding life. We miss him already.