Owen Victor Washburn
1937-2018
Born May 5, 1937 in Wirral, New Brunswick, died July 10, 2018
in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Sheila (nee Caughey)
Washburn; his children, Susan Blair, Kenneth Washburn (Trudy
Gallagher), and Nancy Washburn-Pynn (Barry Pynn); grandchildren,
Emily, Jessica, Cameron, and Suzanne; by his sister, Barbara Dryden
(Robert); brother, David Washburn (Anna); and by many cousins, nieces
and nephews.
Owen was predeceased by his parents, Hibbert and Mabel (nee
MacDonald) Washburn; brother, Larry Washburn (Jean); sisters, Caroline
Washburn, Audrey Magee (Doug), and Diane Sloat (Charles); and by his
son, Thomas Washburn.
Owen was a professional engineer (BSc in Engineering Physics
from Queens University, PhD in Chemical Engineering from UNB), and
worked as a senior partner for a number of local firms, including
Washburn and Gillis, Owen Washburn and Associates, and Neill and
Gunter. Prior to that he worked at the Pulp and Paper Research
Institute in Point Claire, Quebec, the Uniroyal Research Laboratory in
Guelph, Ontario, and for the New Brunswick Department of Environment.
He was an avid birder, naturalist, environmentalist, golfer,
photographer, genealogist, and gardener, and a lifelong student of
philosophy, theology, and natural history, and earlier in his life,
was a curler and local soccer coach. Owen loved sports and was a
long-time fan of the Boston Red Sox, and he used his inexhaustible
memory to maintain a vast store of sports statistics. He was deeply
committed to bettering the world around him but tempered his
uncompromising integrity with a whimsical sense of
humour.
He was active in the Wilmot United Church, and in the
Fredericton Kiwanis Club, the Bay of Fundy Ecosystem Partnership, the
Fredericton Community Kitchen, the drop-in centre at Wilmot Church,
Fredericton Botanic Garden, Fredericton Naturalist Club, and the UNB
Herbarium.
He was past-president of the Federation of Ontario
Naturalists, the Fredericton Curling Club, and was the charter
president of the Nature Trust of New Brunswick. He was a member of the
Fredericton Community Foundation Honorary Council, and the Thomas
Washburn Memorial Engineering Scholarship Committee.
The family wishes to extend their heartfelt thanks to the
Fredericton Extramural Nursing team, and to Hospice
House.
Visitation will be at McAdam’s Funeral Home, 160 York St.,
Fredericton, from 4:00 to 6:00 pm on Friday, July 13, 2018. A memorial
service will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, July 14, 2018 from
Wilmot United Church. Rev. Ellen Beairsto will officiate. Interment
will be in Fredericton Rural Cemetery at a later date. For those who
wish, donations can be made in Owen’s memory to the Fredericton
Botanic Garden or the Fredericton Community Foundation.
www.mcadamsfh.com
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Owen Victor Washburn 19372018.source
Décès pour la Ville: Fredericton, Province: Nouveau-Brunswick
