Obituary
Herbert David Manthorne
23 September 1939 – 2 December 2020
After a prolonged and unforgiving illness, we regretfully announce that Herbert Manthorne died at home on 2 December 2020.
Born in Seal Harbour, Nova Scotia to Lena and Alfred, he spent his early life there and attended the local school. He was the eldest of six children in what remains a very close family, and in many ways was a father figure to his siblings after Alfred’s passing.
He was born and remained through his life a man with insatiable curiosity, outstanding intelligence and wide-ranging talents. It is said that he was able to master anything to which he directed his powerful mind. As a child he used an electrical current to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen and likely delighted in the explosion that occurred when the two came back together. He could be mischievous and as a small toddler locked his then-pregnant Mum in the cellar. Lena had to climb out one of the windows to get back to him.
His interest in subjects was as wide-ranging as his talent, and he mastered everything – from gardening and baking to electrical and mechanical innovation and repair to woodworking and photography. He had an astonishing and in-depth knowledge of a diverse range of subjects. He could comment on the clouds and easily predict weather, he knew about geography and history, he knew intricate details of nuclear reactors and wind generators. He built clocks and cottages, baked bread and had an outstanding artistic eye and talent. He truly saw and appreciated everything around him.
He was a talented singer and spent many years with Wesley United Church choir. He loved music of all sorts and it was a consistent part of our lives at home.
He was a member of the Masonic Fraternity and took great pride in that membership, fellowship, and work.
Accepted into many different careers, including the RCMP, he eventually chose his path with Otis Elevator Company, for whom he would work for the next 50 years. There was really no mechanical problem he couldn’t solve and people often looked to him for guidance in these matters. He worked hard and took long hours of call, often being called away from home on holidays and overnight.
He met Marilyn in 1967 and there started a marriage journey like few others. The two were partners in the truest sense of the word, very different people with absolutely unified parenting and family goals. Together they created a warm and cozy home, that most solid of bases on which their children would thrive.
To his daughters he was a pillar of strength and inspiration, and a model for the very fabric of their lives. He treated everyone he met with the utmost respect. He was as warm as he was loving, strong and protective. His parenting style reflected his gentle disposition and patience, guiding us with grace and modesty and providing us with a safe home in which we desired nothing. He was consistent and present and ensured that traditions were kept, perhaps unaware of how important they were to us and now to his beloved Grandchildren.
Stella, Rylan and Evelyn were blessed with a Grampie that instilled in them his integrity, values and gentle spirit. Even at their young age they are aware of who he was at his core, and his enduring legacy will live on through them.
Herb had a cunning sense of humour and with just a look or an eyebrow raise could send people into fits of laughter. He had a disarming personality…one needed to spend only a short time in his presence to know that if he said something, it was worth listening to, and that he was really listening to everything being said. The best moments with Herb were one on one, many have memories of him saying something profoundly meaningful and enlightening (or profoundly funny and grounding) to them, but always in the most discreet way.
Herb was a gentle, kind, empathetic and earnest soul. Many who knew him remember the kindness and attention he showed them as children.
He was a man of few words, but his actions also spoke for him…the prototypical gentleman, generous to a fault, he offered his arm to ladies, brought flowers to elderly neighbours and lent his technical and artistic talents to people whenever and wherever needed. He was as patient and good as he was kind. He truly lived in the service of others and always remembered the Important things.
He was quietly spiritual and believed in a greater meaning in this life. He acceptance the impermanence of our being. That strength would follow him as he faced each and every progressive and searing loss that his illness exacted. He withstood these losses and his decline, the shrinking of his world, and his approaching death in the exact same way he lived – with unbelievable patience, without complaint, with full acceptance and courage, with humility, and with unmatched and awe-inspiring dignity, composure, and grace.
His devoted and exceptionally strong wife Marilyn would take on the most honourable duty to him and take care of him at home for the majority of his unfathomable illness. This was made exceptionally more challenging and isolating in the face of current pandemic restrictions. She held him up, literally and figuratively, thereby giving him the greatest gift imaginable. The family is forever in her debt.
His life was one well-lived, his death will be greatly mourned, and his legacy will live on through all those privileged enough to have known him.
He leaves to mourn his loving wife of 52 years, Marilyn, his much loved daughters Janice and Jillian and sons-in-law Peter Lane and Moe Tabesh, most beloved and dear grandchildren Stella, Rylan, and Evelyn Tabesh, as well as step-grandchildren Jessica and Sara Lane.
He will be mourned as well by his sisters and brothers Sheila Randall (Dennis), Brent (Celesta) , Linda Pellerin (Gerald (predeceased)), Warren (Andrea), and Julia; his brother in law Bill Thistle and his sister in law Elizabeth Thistle. He was greatly loved and admired by his sister in law Judy (Thistle) Trahey (predeceased March 2020).
He will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by many cherished nieces and nephews along with a multitude of friends, colleagues, and admirers.
The family would like to thank all those, medical and otherwise, who allowed Herb to stay at home until the end – either through direct care, or through the consistent, unfailing, and inspiring support they have offered our family in our collective time of need.
Visitation to be held at Barrett’s Funeral Home, 328 Hamilton Avenue on Friday, September 24, 2021 from 2-4pm and 7-9pm. Funeral service to be held from Wesley United Church, Saturday, September 25th, 2021 at 1:00pm. To register to attend the service please call Barrett’s (579-6007) between 9am-5pm. Interment to follow at The Pouch Cove United Church Cemetery, Bauline Line, Pouch Cove.
Donations in his memory may be made to Wesley United Church (wesleychurch.ca).
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2021
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Herbert D Manthorne 2021..
Décès pour la Ville: St-John’s, Province: T-N