Daniel Michael Campbell

Dan passed away peacefully at his residence in The Algoma Manor on Thursday, May 7, 2026, after a brief illness in his 98th year with family by his side.

Dan was predeceased by his wife of 68 years, Mary “Jiggs” Campbell. Loving Father of three children: Michael Campbell, Stephen Campbell (Pat) and Teresa Caughill (Neil). He was Grandpa to: Andrea Kattlus (Scott), Lisa Caughill and Graeme Caughill (Jann) He was a loving Poppa to: Reed and Eden Kattlus, Devon Barnes, Belle Scott, Malcolm Caughill and Evelyn Royce. Dan was predeceased by the following siblings and their spouses: Frank Campbell (Vicki), Malachy Campbell (Doris), Agnes Duncan (Bill), Mary Healy (Ted), Lee Campbell, Ray Campbell and Dorothy Upton. He is survived by his Sister, Bonnie Ring (late Vic). Dan was brother-in-law to: Sally Wismer (late Bob), Bonnie and Joe Trudeau, late Malcolm (Sandy) MacDonald, late Fran VereHunt, Jan MacDonald (late Danny) and late Susan Alton. Dan was an Uncle and Great Uncle to many nieces and nephews across the country.

Born in Saskatoon to his Irish immigrant father, Patrick Campbell (a blacksmith) and his mother, Marie (née Dineen) on January 29, 1929, as the eighth of nine children, Daniel Michael Campbell entered the world literally just ahead of The Great Depression, an accident of fate that necessarily shaped his formative years.

As a child and into his teens, he worked at any labour he could find to earn nickels and dimes, along the way picking up self-taught skills in photography (he built his own enlarger), rudimentary carpentry and plumbing, as well as sewing! By the time he was ten, the news was dominated by the events of WWII, and at sixteen he joined the Air Cadets and found his true passion: flying.

The war ended before he was old enough to see action but at eighteen he enlisted in the R.C.A.F (the Royal Canadian Air Force) training on all manner of aircraft: Tiger Moths, Harvards, Lancaster Bombers, T-33 jets and finally - what turned out to be his true calling – fairly new contraptions called helicopters.

While stationed at Sea Island in Vancouver as a Flight Lieutenant, he met his soon-to-be wife, Mary (née MacDonald), also in the RCAF as a Leading Air Woman. In order to marry, she had to leave the forces (rules precluded officers being involved with lower ranks) and convert to Catholicism to boot. They were wed on April 13, 1953, and remained married until Mary’s death in June of 2021.

Their first child, Michael, was born in January, 1954 in Vancouver, B.C.; their second son, Stephen, was born on St. Joseph’s Island near Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario (Mary’s family home) in December, 1955; and daughter Teresa was born in May of 1959, in Red Deer, Alberta.

Life in the Airforce was a transient one; the family moved often (usually every two to three years) and lived in Vancouver and Richmond in B.C., Penhold and Red Deer in Alberta, Courtenay on Vancouver Island, Belleville, Ontario, Summerside, PEI and Ottawa twice.

Unusually, Dan and clan only lived in on-base PMQs (private married quarters) twice, preferring to buy houses in the community instead. In most cases, he put his DIY skills to use, building rec rooms in the basements, adding value to the properties, long before flipping houses was even a thing. That also provided more space for Dan and Jiggs (as Mary was better known) to entertain their many friends and relatives, and for the kids to play. It was in the years living in Courtenay that Dan flew his Labrador Helicopter from Courtenay to Mary’s family home on St. Joseph Island, Ontario to pick up the family piano and fly it back to B.C. so, daughter Teresa could begin taking piano lessons at the age of seven.

Growing up with Dan as Dad, especially early in life, was sometimes a challenge. One of the first things Mike and Steve learned was how to make their beds: hospital corners with sheets taut enough to bounce a quarter off of. Did he check to make sure they were made properly every day? Yes. Yes he did. Religiously.

Speaking of religion, Dan and Mary were devout Catholics and the family went to church every Sunday. Mike and Steve were even altar boys in Richmond and Belleville. In fact, much to the horror of all three children, when the family moved to Belleville from Vancouver Island in 1967, they discovered they’d been enrolled in Catholic schools. Despite the nuns, priests and uniforms (Teresa was too young for the uniform part) the experience turned out to be mostly (length of hair issues, Mike getting suspended for starting a subversive alternative high school newspaper, etc.) a good one.

Thanks to his nearly impoverished upbringing, Dan was very serious about money and his children were expected to earn it. There was no allowance without chores: doing dishes, laundry, cutting the grass, keeping their respective bedrooms tidy. They were also encouraged to get paper routes, shovel snow and babysit, and to do things free for neighbours who needed the help.

Meanwhile, over all those years, he’d been making an extraordinary career in the military. In March of 1965, for National Geographic magazine, he flew Robert Kennedy to the newly-named Mount Kennedy so he could be the first to ascend the peak; he set a record at the time for the highest altitude helicopter landing. He was awarded the Back & Bevington Air Safety Award for “a person who most contributed to air safety in B.C.” in 1966. The same year, he was awarded the Air Force Cross, the highest honour for valour, courage and devotion to duty in peacetime, for an incredibly dangerous rescue in a gale at night on a mountainside. In 1970 he was the first to land a helicopter on the north pole. In 1973 he was the 1st recipient of the Gordon R. McGregor Memorial Trophy for “outstanding and meritorious achievement by a Canadian in the field of Air Transportation” in recognition of a defensive flying program he’d put together.

In 1971, in anticipation of retirement, he (with a lot of help this time) built The Clansmen Motel in Richard’s Landing, Ontario, St. Joseph Island, the property of his in-laws’ and Mary’s childhood home.

That same summer they moved again. He’d risen to the rank of Major and was third in command at CFB Summerside, P.E.I. Here, for only the second time, the family lived on-base. Ironically, regulations did not allow him to renovate the basement, but it did not preclude him from making his own wine down there. Again, anything to save money. It should be noted that while he owned credit cards, he never once paid a cent of interest on them.

He was transferred once more in 1974 to Ottawa, this time to work at the Department of National Defense, a desk job that he hated. Since he was due to retire in 1975, Teresa was sent to St. Joseph Island, rather than start high school in Ottawa and then move a year later to the Island, where she wound up helping her grandparents run the motel and where she met her future husband. As luck would have it, the Air Force extended his service and he didn’t retire until 1978 when daughter Teresa was married.

He finally relocated to Richard’s Landing where he bought his own 1948 vintage Aeronca Champ 2-seater airplane to continue his passion for the air. He completely rebuilt it from the frame up with some help from friends. He acquired a real estate licence but the family believed that was mostly so he could take photos of his properties from the air; you know, so he could be flying! At the insistence of his long-suffering wife, he ceased that hobby at age 82 and donated the plane to the Bush Plane Museum in Sault Ste. Marie, where it is on display today.

Retirement suited him, and he traded in his sharply pressed uniforms for jeans and sweatshirts and took on volunteer work with the St. Joseph Island Lion’s Club and Canadian Legion Branch #374, as well as supporting charities too numerous to list.

Perhaps the role he was most proud of was as Grandfather to Teresa’s children: Andrea, Lisa and Graeme. By the time they were born, he’d become obsessed with his various video cameras, and their early lives made them possibly the most recorded children in history at the time. Not content to only point his lens at his grandkids, the once-avid hunter also trained it on the local wildlife. He filled untold numbers of tapes with deer, squirrels and virtually anything else that moved, often insisting on screening them for anyone unfortunate to be around when he got the urge.

His love and pride later extended to his Great Grandchildren, always eager to hear about their special interests. As a loving Poppa, he was forever thinking of them when he was on his many shopping trips. Even into his mid 90's he would often pick up items he thought they would enjoy or equipment to spark a new sports passion.

Major Dan, as he was generally known, was a kind, capable, exceedingly generous, loving and, above all, humble, man whose deeds spoke louder than his words. He lived almost a century but accomplished more in his days on earth than most would in several lifetimes. There won’t be another like him, and he will be sorely missed by all who had to privilege of knowing him.

As per our Dad’s wishes, there will be no service or celebration of life. There will be a private interment this summer with the family. His only wish was that we continue to share his legacy with others.

Thank you to all of the care professionals at Bridgelink Medical Clinic in Richard’s Landing for your years of care, as well as our beloved hospital, Matthews Memorial.

Dan’s family would like to thank all the wonderful staff at the Algoma Manor in Thessalon for their doting care and compassion over the last year. You were all his “other family” and we know from all your stories how much of an impact he had on your lives as well.

Funeral arrangements entrusted to Arthur Funeral Home – Barton & Kiteley Chapel (492 Wellington Street East, 705-759-2522). Memorial donations (payable by cheque or online) in Dan’s name can be made to the St. Joseph Township PSW Program or The St. Joseph Island Food Bank. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be made at www.arthurfuneralhome.com.