Joseph Ralph MacDonald
1945-2020
It is with great sadness we announce the death of Joseph
Ralph MacDonald of Antigonish, NS. Ralph passed away on December 15,
2020 at St. Martha’s Regional Hospital, Antigonish, at 75
years of age with his family at his side.
Born in Antigonish, he was the son of the late William Joseph
and Mabel Eunice (Hattie) MacDonald of Lochaber.
He was a devoted husband to his wife of 50 years, Margaret
Barbara (DeWolfe), and loving and caring father to Charles (Kimberly),
St. Andrews; Ernie (Susan), Port Williams; Glenn (Gina), Sherwood
Park, Alberta; Trina (Donald) Pardington, Fredericton, New Brunswick;
and Christopher (Rachel), New Berlin, New York. Doting grandfather to
twelve grandchildren, Grace, Caroline, Daniel, Aaron, Will,
Christopher, Riley, Isobel, Avery, Finn, Fraser, and Luke who always
brought a glint to his eye whenever they were around. Eldest
brother to Clement (Caroline) and Ernest (Bernadette) of Lochaber;
Joan (Doug) Petruk of Camrose, Alberta; Robert (Nona) of Stellarton;
and Francis (Theresa) of Springfield, who was also his best friend. He
will also be missed by many nieces and nephews.
Ralph was a strong, kind, and fair man, who loved to laugh,
and he was never one to raise his voice. Ralph was a lifelong
educator, starting his 31-year career at the age of 19 in the
Annapolis Valley, before coming back to Guysborough County, where he
continued and finished his career which ranged from classroom teacher,
guidance counselor, principal, superintendent, and to regional
coordinator of several portfolios for the Guysborough County District
School Board. He was a lifelong 4-H leader and supporter, long after
his children had aged out of the program. He and Barb both enjoyed
camping and square dancing with their RV Club, calling and teaching
square dancing to the next generation. That, along with gardening,
were his two loves, outside of the unwavering love he had for his
family.
Over the last four years, Ralph spent as much time in his
second home, the PCU at St. Martha’s, as he did at his
actual home. The staff in that unit have certainly become a very
important part of our family for the care, support, friendship and
kindness they showed our father over the past few years, as well as to
Dr. Cudmore, his family doctor for over 30 years, Dr. Howard, and the
rest of the doctors and staff at St. Martha’s, to whom we
can never repay the gratitude we feel for the care, respect and
willingness to go above and beyond that you all showed. The family
would also thank the care providers from Melrose and Antigonish
VON.
Cremation has taken place. Visitation will be held
on Friday, December 18,
2-4pm and 6-9pm in C.L. Curry Funeral Home, 135 College Street,
Antigonish. Social distancing protocols must be followed and
masks are mandatory. Funeral Mass will be held at St. Ninian
Cathedral on Saturday, December 19 at
11:00am. The funeral
will be recorded, and a link to the service will be made available on
the funeral home website.
Burial will be at a later date in St. Patrick’s
Cemetery in Lochaber. There will also be a public celebration of life
when health guidelines allow.
In Memoriam, donations may be made to St. Martha’s
Regional Hospital Foundation, St. Patrick’s Catholic Church
Cemetery Fund, the Victorian Order of Nurses (Melrose or Antigonish),
or a charity of your choice.
Online condolences: www.clcurry.com
PUBLIC VISITATION
PROTOCOLS
All visitors are advised to bring a mask when
attending a visitation at our funeral home. There are
markings on the floor which indicate six-foot distances as well as
markings that indicate 6 feet from the family.
It is important that you respect those
markings, and physical contact with the family is to be avoided at all
times. The province’s social
distancing guidelines can be found here.
At the direction of the Province of Nova Scotia, we
will not be handling Mass or donation money, though cards can be made
available for you. You will be asked to provide your name
and phone number for the purposes of tracing should a case of COVID-19
be reported.
Anyone who is exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms or who
could be considered high-risk of contracting the coronavirus should
avoid attending the visitation and funeral. The list of
COVID-19 symptoms can be found here.
We thank you for your understanding in these
difficult times.
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Joseph Ralph MacDonald 19452020..
Death notice for the town of: Antigonish, Province: Nova Scotia