Paul M. Brunelle, FGDC
1952-2020
Paul Michael Brunelle, of New Cornwall, Nova Scotia, passed away at
home on Saturday, January 18, 2020 at the age of 67.
Paul was born to Father, Paul Joseph Brunelle and Mother, Gwendolyn
Pearl Brunelle (Myers) on November 7, 1952 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He
grew up the eldest of three children, and attended Elementary school
at Southdale in Dartmouth. He attended numerous other public schools
in both Dartmouth and Ottawa and completed Highschool at Dartmouth
High. He attended The Nova Scotia College of Art and Design from 1971
– 1976, graduating with a Bachelor of Design in Communication
Design.
In 1977 with Partner Dereck Day he founded Graphic Design Associates
(GDA) in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Through GDA Paul developed a strong
reputation, sited as being “A laconic man with the modulated
voice of an experienced late night radio host.” He was National
President of Graphic Designers of Canada from 1992-1994, as well as
President and Treasurer of the GDC Atlantic. He championed a love for
local business and strong communication between different
professionals in the field, with much of his work still readily
accessible today. Notable examples of this would be the Nova Scotian
Health Card depicting Kejimkujik Park, or his Scotia Festival of Music
Series throught the mid to late 1980s.
In 1978, he met Meredith Bell at a gathering at his apartment on
Victoria Road. Neither of them realized it, but this was only the
beginning of their storied relationship. In the late 1980s, Paul
subcontracted Meredith, then of Next Step Graphics, for projects in
the field of design. After numerous successes, they decided to take on
their most ambitious project to date, which culminated in the birth of
their son Michael Erin Brunelle on March 14, 1991.
Throughout Paul’s life he had a passion for natural history and
the outdoors. This eventually led him to devote his life to the study
of the dragonflies and damselflies of the northeast, at the time
relatively poorly known. Throughout the late 1980’s and until
his death Paul’s interest in damselflies and dragonflies never
flagged and became his primary vocation. Funded by a number of
agencies, his insect survey work took him to some of the most remote
bogs, streams and marshes of the Maritimes and Maine, usually alone,
and often at risk of sinking into a quagmire.
An early highlight was his 1995 discovery of a new species of
dragonfly, the Broad-tailed Shadowdragon (Neurocordulia michaeli),
which he described in the scientific literature and named for his son
in 2000. A dusk-flying species, Paul discovered larvae in the Canoose,
a cool, clear, rocky stream in Charlotte County, New Brunswick. The
find was significant (it had been nearly half a century since anyone
had discovered a new shadowdragon in North America) and led to
dragonfly specialists from across the continent making the trek to
southeastern New Brunswick when the 1996 annual meeting of the
Dragonfly Society of the Americas was held in St. Stephen, N.B. to
mark the discovery.
Paul had a deep understanding of the value and importance of natural
history collections. His data collection was meticulous, with his
specimens deposited in a number of museum collections. Most of his
collections are now housed in the New Brunswick Museum, which holds
one of the largest dragonfly and damselfly collections in Canada,
largely due to Paul’s efforts.
The scope of the NB Museum collection reflects not only Paul’s
decades of field study, but just as important, his huge impact on
other natural historians in the region. Paul was a teacher without
peer who encouraged many others in the study of the flying dragons he
found so marvellous. He particularly enjoyed working with young
people, and a number of students he took under his wing are now
pursuing graduate degrees in the study of insects at Canadian
universities. In the months prior to his death Paul completed the
draft of his magnum opus, Atlas of the Dragonflies and Damselflies of
Acadia (Maine and the Maritimes). This 400 page manuscript, written,
designed (reflecting his love of Helvetica!), and replete with
illustrations he prepared himself, will hopefully eventually be
published, a fitting tribute and legacy to both Paul and the insects
he loved.
He is survived by his Son, Michael Erin Brunelle; and Sister, Therese
Goodyer and her Children, Andrea MacLeod and Peter Mortenson.
Paul was cremated on Thursday, January 22 under the direction of
Mahone Funeral Home.
The family is grateful for condolences and invites those that wish to
pay respects to Paul’s life and legacy to make a donation to the
NB Museum Christie Fund, established to support the study of natural
history in the Maritimes and which supported some of Paul’s
work.
New Brunswick Museum Christie Fund
New Brunswick Museum
277 Douglas Avenue
Saint John, NB E2K 1E5
c/o Donald F. McAlpine, Ph.D.
Research Curator (Zoology) & Head
Department of Natural Science
MAHONE FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION SERVICE
“Founded in 1883 – Serving the Community for 137 years.”
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Paul Brunelle FGDC 19522020..
Death notice for the town of: Mahone-Bay, Province: Nova Scotia