Walter M. Vaters

Born August 29, 1936, in Rushoon, Newfoundland, he was the eldest born son of the late James and Frances (Bailey) Vaters.

Known affectionately to family as Pop, he left home as a teenager and worked at various jobs throughout Ontario, including time as a roofer and as hand on a tobacco farm.

He moved to Nova Scotia in 1959, met his wife Chris and started his family. They lived in Fairview and Dartmouth before moving to Terence Bay, where he and Chris built the home they would live in for over 30 years.

To provide, he worked as a milkman for Maple Leaf Dairy, delivering milk on Hammonds Plains Road. With a life-long love of the sea, and a growing family, Pop began a career in shipping. He began in the kitchen, then below deck as a fireman. His new career kept him away from home and family more than he would’ve liked, but it was just one of many sacrifices he made to support us.

He began his career at sea with Gulf Oil, then joined the Canadian Coast Guard. With encouragement from a senior officer, Pop returned to school at 40 years old, attending TUNS where he became a Marine Engineer, while working and being a father.

Pop retired in 1995 as Chief Engineer on the CCGS Terry Fox, having spent his career on many different ice breakers, opening transport lines in the Northwest Passage. Pop loved the North and his time there.

He was also Project Manager for the CCGS John A. MacDonald refit in Sorel, QC, a highlight of his career.

In retirement, he spent his time doting on his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, working on projects around the house or playing his accordion. He also took up the guitar in his 85th year.

Left to mourn are his son, Walter; and daughters Darlene (Louis) Slaunwhite, Gail (Darrell) Hopkinson, Kelly (Chad) Vaters-Vieth, and Frances (Robert Cameron) Vaters; eight grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren; brothers Andy (Karen) Vaters and James (Joyce) Vaters and many nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by his wife, the former Christina Mitchell; his daughter, Yvonne Vaters-Verde; foster brother, William Withers; and sister, Genevieve Murphy.

There will be visitation Friday, February 6, 2026, at J. A. Snow Funeral Home, from 2-4pm and 6-8pm. There will be a mass held Saturday, February 7, 2026, at 10am in St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Shad Bay, followed by internment in Star of the Sea Cemetery, Terence Bay. Reception to follow at Terence Bay Community Hall, Terence Bay.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Souls Harbour Mission, Halifax.