Carol Anne Sinclair

Carol was born on August 22, 1935, in Saint John, New Brunswick, to Harold and Beatrice (Hunter) Vincent. She moved to Halifax at the age of three, and attended Sir Charles Tupper Elementary School and the Halifax Ladies College before taking a B.Sc. in Chemistry and Biology at Dalhousie University, graduating in 1956. Carol was an active member of the community while at Dalhousie, playing for the field hockey team, sitting on the executive board of the Glee and Dramatic Society, and contributing to many charitable and social events as a member of the Phi Beta Phi Sorority. Carol worked as a laboratory technician at the Victoria General hospital, the Dalhousie Physiology department, the Montreal Royal Victoria Hospital, and the Harvard Sanitary Chemistry lab. She also taught at the Halifax Ladies College and worked as an English as an Additional Language teacher, as well as working as a volunteer in many Halifax organizations.

Carol is survived by her sons Andrew (Julie Lindsay), Peter (Claudine Giroud), Douglas (Kristin), and her daughter Sarah (Donald Dorey), as well as ten grandchildren who loved her dearly: Eilidh and Saoirse, Aurelie and Loic, Torsten, Annika, and Linnea, and Elizabeth, Madeline, and Alexander, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

Carol was predeceased by her husband, Alasdair Maclean Sinclair, by her parents, and by her brother, Hugh Vincent, as well as by her brothers-in-law David Hartry and Richard James, her sisters-in-law, Joy Sinclair and Marnie Vincent, her nieces Natalie Sinclair and Nicki Vincent, and her nephew Mark Vincent.

Carol was a driving force in the Halifax volunteer community for over sixty years. She served on the board of the Halifax YWCA as a member at large, Vice President, and President, and sat on and chaired numerous committees and task forces. She also served on the national board of the YWCA from 1985 to 1991, during which time she served as World Council delegate and YWCA representative to a development tour of countries in the Caribbean.

Carol was also very involved in the Halifax Transition House Association, serving as a committee member, committee chair, Vice Chair of the Board of Directors, and Chair of the Board of Directors at Bryony House, as well as being a representative to the Provincial Committee on Family Violence. Carol was also active in the New Democratic Party for over fifty years, chairing the Halifax Citadel election planning committee in several elections, as well as working as a campaign manager, canvasser, office worker, and member at large on the constituency committee for women’s rights.

Carol also wore many hats at Fort Massey United Church: Sunday school teacher, Outreach Committee member, Group Committee member, Christian Education Committee member and chair, Chair of the Board of Management, and Church Elder. Other organizations that received the benefit of Carol’s energy and industry over the years were the Junior League, the Dalhousie Alumni Association, the Dalhousie Women’s Alumni Association, the Canadian Federation of University Women, the Stephen Lewis Foundation, the Sir Frederick Fraser School for the Blind, and UNICEF.

Over the course of her long and active life, Carol lived in Montreal, Cambridge, London, Dar es Salaam, Kingston, and Washington, and she travelled in Europe, the Caribbean, the Baltics, Russia, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Uruguay, and Bolivia.

She enjoyed camping with her family and spent many happy days tenting in Canada, the US, Europe, and East Africa. Highlights of her travels included meeting a water buffalo outside the tent in Africa, seeing Aida at Covent Gardens, visiting the Hermitage in Russia, and travelling to Lake Titicaca in Bolivia.

Carol’s favourite place in the world, however, was the little cottage on Prospect Bay that her parents bought when she was a teenager. Carol spent every summer that she was in Canada at the cottage, right up until the last weeks of her life, and was thrilled to celebrate her 91st birthday surrounded by her family and looking out at the bay.

The family would like to express their deep appreciation for the attentive and thoughtful care provided in the last few years by Dr. Clarke, Dr. Rendon, Dr. Thano, and their heartfelt thanks to all the health care workers who made it possible for Carol to stay in her home until the end.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the YWCA or Bryony House.

A memorial service will be held at Fort Massey United Church on September 26th at 2:00 p.m.