Colin Arthur Finlay

Colin was predeceased by his parents, George Finlay and May (Dockrill) Finlay. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Elaine, (Jones),formerly of Montreal, daughters Patricia Finlay (Warren Barkhouse) and Jennifer Finlay (Timothy MacPherson), grandchildren Jacob Barkhouse, Sealey Barkhouse, Aidia MacPherson and Georgia MacPherson.

Colin attended the University of New Brunswick , where he graduated Summa Cum Laude, receiving the Lieutenant Governor’s Silver Medal, and the Ketchum Medal for Excellence in Engineering. It was there he met Elaine and they were married two days after graduation in 1973.

After graduating Colin joined JW Lindsay Enterprises. In 1974 he became the manager of the Moncton office. During their years in Moncton, his twin daughters were born and he found two of the other passions of his life: sailing, and fly fishing.

In 1980 the family returned to the Halifax area and settled in Bedford. Colin eventually became a partner at JW Lindsay Enterprises and was respected by his colleagues and clients alike for his tireless work ethic, his ability to define a problem, visualize solutions and his quiet authenticity. “His word was gold”.

Never happier than when near the water, in 1984 the family built and moved into their home on Shore Drive. Sailing continued to be a passion—first aboard Sorcerer, and later Scot Free, which

the family owned for 28 years. He was active at the Bedford Basin Yacht Club, racing cruising and serving on management.

1996 Colin and Elaine bought property in Marriotts Cove, intending to use it as a cottage. But the pull of the Mahone Bay was strong and after renovating the house in 1998 they became full time residents of Chester Basin.

Colin left JW Lindsay to start CAFIN Management, an independent construction management consultancy which he operated until he retired in 2005.

With leisure came golf, which he played avidly, he and his buddies were known to be out for the first round in the spring and the last round in the fall.

Membership in Chester Yacht Club led to race management roles and lots more cruising. Colin had the unusual distinction of being commodore of two yacht clubs, Bedford Basin Yacht Club and Chester Yacht Club and overseeing renovations at both.

In the last few years he revived his love of fly fishing and was fortunate to be able to take two more fishing trips this spring.

A Celebration of Colin’s Life will be held at Chester Yacht Club on Sunday, September 21, at 3pm. Donations in Colin’s memory may be made to South Shore Regional Health Foundation, Souls Harbour Rescue Mission, Lighthouse Foodbank, or a charity of your choice.

Farewell my captain. May you have light winds and following seas. He was our compass, our navigator, our anchor in the storm, and our star to steer us home.