Born in Tampa, Florida in 1927, the son of Ross McHenry and Dorothy (Blois) Barteaux, Don was raised and lived most of his life in Dartmouth (and yes, he could tell you “what buildings used to be”).
After graduating high school, he spent a couple of years at Nova Scotia Agricultural College in Truro, before changing tack to electrical engineering at “Tech”, then entering his P.Eng. career with NS Light & Power (later NS Power Corporation), where he became an early advocate of domestic energy efficiency, and the emerging heat pump technologies.
After a long courtship, Don married his childhood sweetheart: the girl across the street, Marj Mitchell. Work would lead first to Yarmouth, where family legend claims the young couple as the model for a notable Maud Lewis painting. The red sports car soon gave way to a VW bug when they returned to Crichton Avenue and began family life.
Don was a man of many talents, with an abiding love of the garden, and woodworking craft (culminating in the 1967 centennial harpsichord project). A continuing education venture into ceramics produced a number of now cherished pottery items. To his children he passed a deep respect for local history, arts and music, and the wonders of nature.
Don’s enduring inspiration was life on the water: canoeing and sailing as a youth, first on the lakes, then the open ocean (where he crewed with marine photographer W.R. MacAskill). Years later he would cruise Mahone Bay in his own Espuma. He last took the helm on his 90th birthday. The draw of wooden ships, their voyages, and the lore of men at sea was perennial.
After his retirement, Don & Marj enjoyed a remarkably productive partnership. As well as serving informally as archivists for the family congregation, they played handbells together, performing for many years as charter members of the St. James Church Carillon Choir. They traced their respective genealogies across Nova Scotia and back to the Old World, where research visits to family heritage sites in Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands capped a British canal boat holiday.
Don and Marj were steadfast and model helpmates.
Our canoe expeditions had earlier crossed every lake in Kejimkujik, but family and friends also share especially happy memories across four decades relaxing in comfort together at Milford House.
And while a man of few words, Don had a true common touch, and was always able to engage with whomever he encountered. He met both life’s drama and more mundane challenges with sober practicality and a quiet dignity. All he asked was the right tool for the job, and a trustworthy measure.
Don Barteaux is predeceased by his wife, Marjorie Clare (Mitchell); son, Bruce (in childhood); sister, Ruth Fiendell; son-in-law, Greg Cochkanoff. He is survived by his son, David Ross (Pam Murphy); daughter, Anne Elizabeth Cochkanoff; grandchildren, Emma Murphy-Barteaux, Hannah & Nick Cochkanoff; and niece, Debbie (Fiendell) Markle.
Thank you to neighbours Fraser & Webster; to Eileen Brown for years of devoted home care; to Taren, Sam & all at Laurel’s Lake Residences for their kind attention during Dad’s last days; and to Pippa, kitty companion to the end.
Cremation has taken place, and there will be a private family gathering in remembrance.
Memorial donations may be made to Bide Awhile Animal Shelter.
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