Dr. Donalda Macrae Curry

Donna MacRae was born to Dr. Donald and Gladys MacRae in November 1940, the second of five daughters. For most of her life, she called Halifax home, growing up on Jubilee Road and later raising her own family just a few blocks away on Bloomingdale Terrace. She attended Sir Charles Tupper Elementary, Cornwallis Junior High, and Queen Elizabeth High School before completing her undergraduate studies and medical degree at Dalhousie University.

Donna was a lifelong athlete and a fierce competitor. From swimming competitions at the Waeg to playing baseball with the older children in Grade 3, she embraced every opportunity to enjoy competitive sports. Donna was a well-known varsity athlete in high school and at Dal. Her talents in volleyball and basketball were formally recognized in 1962, when she received Dalhousie University’s Class of ’55 Award as the top female athlete. She was always someone you wanted on your team.

A leader on and off the playing field, Donna earned a Bachelor of Science from Dalhousie University in 1962. In 1967, she graduated from medical school as one of only three women in her class. While studying medicine, she met John Curry, and they married in 1965. After graduation, they moved to Edmonton, where both began postgraduate studies. Donna completed a year of general internal medicine before joining the Links Associate Clinic as a family physician in 1968, while John completed his surgical residency. Their son John and daughter Libby were born in Edmonton. The family returned home to Halifax in early 1972, where John joined the Department of Surgery and Donna resumed her family practice and went on to take care of generations of Halifax families. Their son Fred was born in Halifax in 1973, completing the family.

A proud Dalhousian, Donna joined the Alumni Board shortly after returning to Halifax. In 1979, she began her first term on the University’s Board of Governors as the alumni representative. After that term, she received three consecutive Orders in Council appointing her to the Board. Her service culminated in her appointment as Honorary Secretary, a role she held until resigning in 1992.

After retiring from medicine in 2003, Donna returned to her love of sports, mainly in the form of golf at the Chester Golf Club. She recorded two holes-in-one and twice won the Ladies’ Club Championship. She also cherished her time with close friends, especially her weekly gatherings with the members of her bridge club, the Halifax West End Bridge Club, junior division. After John retired in 2006, Donna spent more time at the family’s summer home in Chester, where she enjoyed golfing, sailing, and time with her grandchildren, who began arriving in 2005.

Donna’s reputation as a family physician and her service on Dalhousie University’s Board of Governors led to an invitation to join the board of Our Health Centre in Chester during its early development in 2015. Her medical expertise helped shape the clinic’s design and operations. Created to serve the entire municipality, Our Health Centre has since become a model for clinics across the province.

Donna was a remarkable force. Intelligent, confident, and steady in her convictions. As a physician, she advocated fiercely for her patients and always looked deeper when something did not seem right. As a friend, she was dependable and always ready to help, bring food, or offer wise counsel. As a mother, she was always available and had a sixth sense for knowing when something was wrong, or when she was being misled. She even had an uncanny habit of being up to the washroom at 3 a.m., just as one of her straggling children arrived home from a night out. Her fortitude, intelligence, and spirit made the progression of her Alzheimer’s disease especially difficult to witness.

As Donna’s cognitive health declined, her family moved her to Heart to Heart Care Home in Chester Basin in March 2025. Her family extends heartfelt thanks to Lynn Keyes and her devoted staff for the exemplary care they provided throughout Donna’s stay.

Donna was predeceased by her parents, Dr. Donald and Gladys MacRae, and her younger sister, Helen. She is survived by her husband of 61 years, Dr. John; their three children, John Curry of Ottawa, Libby Smith (Craig) of Canmore, and Fred Curry (Shannon) of Toronto; her three sisters, Libby Douglas of Halifax, Mary Pellerin (Gordon) of Halifax and Larry’s River, and Dr. Peggy Leighton of Halifax; and five grandchildren.

A memorial service is planned for November 9, 2026, at Snows Funeral Home, 339 Lacewood Dr, Halifax at 2:00 pm.

Donations in Donna’s memory may be made to the Donald MacRae Basketball Scholarship at Dalhousie University, the Alzheimer Society, or a charity of choice.