Paul Alan Mears

It is with shock, sadness and love that we mourn the passing of Dr Paul Alan Mears of Halifax, Nova Scotia on May 20, 2026, too soon, at the age of 49.

Paul was born on August 12, 1976, to Paul and Pamela Mears of Delaware, Ontario and spent his early years in the farmlands of that area with his younger sister, Pamelyn, and several animal friends including many dogs and a favourite duck named Super Canard. Paul excelled at school, and played many sports, his favourite of which was football, and even worked as a butcher in high school- a job that he loved and where he gained a skillset for which he retained a significant passion the rest of his life.

Paul completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Guelph (BSc) with his oldest friend, JD (Schwalm, Hamilton, ON) before embarking upon a career in Medicine, completing training at McMaster (MD Class of 2002), Dalhousie (Internal Medicine, 2005; Cardiology, 2008) and again at McMaster (2009, Advanced Cardiac Imaging) before settling into a busy community practice in Nova Scotia at Dartmouth General Hospital (DGH). It was during medical school and residency at Dalhousie in Nova Scotia (NS) where Paul met his dear friend Geoff (Williams, Halifax, NS), who was steadfast until the end. Paul took immense pride in his medical career working in Internal Medicine and Cardiology at DGH, sharing a practice with his esteemed colleague, Jason (Yung, Halifax NS) and keeping their shared and much-loved administrative assistant, Leigh-Anne (Bennett, Dartmouth NS), busy and on her toes.

Beyond the career in medicine of which Paul was incredibly proud, he was a doting father to his beloved daughter, Audrey, who was the absolute light of his life; together, they fished and went on boat rides and toasted marshmallows at their shared favourite place, “the cottage” at Falls Lake, where he also built her deluxe pandemic tree-house called “Audrey’s Reach”. He was the reluctant dog-dad to Libbie, and proud dog-dad to Wally, the sweet pup that was always at his heels since he came to Paul last fall.

While nothing in life made him happier than spending time with Audrey at the lake, his other passions included music (ensuring Audrey became a fan of David Bowie and the Rolling Stones), fast cars, fishing, boating, woodworking, planting trees, and rooting for the Green Bay Packers.

Paul is survived by his (separated) spouse, Dr Sarah McMullen (Halifax, NS); devoted daughter, Audrey; sister, Pamelyn (Delaware, ON), best friends JD and Geoff, and his in-laws, Dr David and Sharon McMullen (Fredericton, NB). He is pre-deceased by his parents, Pamela Jane (June 1946 - Nov 2022, nee Shepherd) and Paul Earl Mears (July 1952 - Feb 2017) and his grandparents.

Paul leaves behind a large practice of patients who respected him, colleagues who worked with him, friends who supported him, and his small family who loved him very much, and miss him.

A celebration of Paul’s life will be held on June 20th, 2026 (location yet TBD). All who knew him are welcome to attend. In lieu of flowers, consider planting a cherry or black walnut tree in Paul’s memory; donations can be made to the Dartmouth General Hospital Foundation or a charity of your choice.