Patrick Terence Hugh O’Neill
1942-2021
Patrick Terence Hugh O’Neill died
peacefully at the Valley Hospice on October 1, 2021. Pat was born in
Vancouver on March 25, 1942. He was raised by his mother, Catherine,
with help from other relatives, when his father did not return to
Canada after the Second World War. Pat spent his childhood in
Vancouver, Whitehorse Yukon, and Vanderhoof
BC.
He left school early to become a radio
announcer on CFWH in Whitehorse, then for CBC Northern Services. The
job ended when the CBC discovered that he was underage. He worked as a
newsman on various private stations in BC: CJAT in Trail, CKOV in
Kelowna, CFCP in Courtenay, CHUB in Nanaimo. His most memorable
experience was working with the legendary Jack Webster in the newsroom
of CKLG in North Vancouver. He switched to print media in the 1960s,
working as reporter and then as Island Editor of what was then the
Daily Colonist in Victoria.
He was an actor, director, and playwright in
Victoria. His plays were produced by Bastion Theatre, and four were
featured on the CBC – three on television and one, The Great
Canadian Preface, on national radio.
Pat switched careers in 1967, becoming a
childcare worker at Sevenoaks Children’s
Centre. This led him, in 1969, to go back to school to
train as a psychologist. He completed his B.A. (Honours) at the
University of Victoria, and went to Yale University for his M.S. and
Ph.D. He specialized in community-clinical psychology and was attached
to the Psychoeducational Clinic while at Yale. He did a clinical
internship at Illinois State Psychiatric Institute in
Chicago.
Pat came back to Canada to join the psychology
department at Acadia University in 1974. He worked there for 29 years
before taking early retirement and becoming professor emeritus. Pat
was the Chief Negotiator for the Acadia University Faculty Association
(AUFA) on the first Collective Agreement. He remained active in union
affairs, serving on four other negotiating teams for AUFA. He was also
the Vice-President of Local 3912 Canadian Union of Public Employees
from 2018 – 2020. He was a member and then Chair of the
Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee of the Canadian Association of
University Teachers (CAUT) for most of the 1990s. He was an Adjunct
Professor at Dalhousie University, taught Ethical Decision-Making in
Psychology at Dalhousie University, at Mount Saint Vincent University
and at the University of Alberta.
Pat was also active in the profession of
psychology. He was the Chair of the Nova Scotia Board of Examiners in
Psychology (NSBEP), Editor of Canadian
Psychology, President of the Canadian Psychological
Association, Executive Director of the Canadian Council of Chairs of
Psychology Departments and Nova Scotia representative to the governing
Council of the American Psychological Association (APA). He was on APA
Council during the controversy over psychologists participating at
Guantanamo Bay; Pat joined those who took a strong stand against such
activities. He was the 2021 recipient of the APNS Dr. Charles J. A.
Hayes Lifetime Contribution Award for outstanding service to the
discipline and profession of Psychology provincially, nationally, and
internationally.
His primary research interests were in
Community Psychology and Ethical Decision-Making. He was the author of
Negotiating Consent in Psychotherapy (N.Y.
University Press) and, with Ed Trickett, Community
Consultation (Jossey-Bass). He was a member of the Federal
government’s Interagency Panel on Research Ethics
(PRE).
In addition to his professional activities, Pat
also loved attending live opera and other performing arts. He enjoyed
testing his eclectic knowledge by watching episodes of Jeopardy,
testing theories of game psychology by playing poker with friends,
accompanying his partner Janice on her annual research trips to Paris,
and following the careers of his children and grandchildren both from
close by and from afar.
Pat leaves behind his loving family, including
his partner of over 30 years, Janice Best and three children, Terry
(Gail), Seanna (Mark), and Chris (Ken). He was a proud grandfather of
seven grandchildren, Teri, Meaghan, Kirstin, Hugh, Aliah, Eamonn, and
Malachy, and of five great-grandchildren, Dominick, Dylan, Grace,
Patrick, and Maxine. He will be missed
terribly.
Donations in Pat’s name to a
favourite charity in lieu of flowers would be appreciated. A
celebration of Pat’s life will be held on Sunday, April 24,
2022 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. at the ‘Great Hall’ in the Fountain
Commons, Acadia University. Funeral
arrangements have been entrusted to the
White Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Kentville. On-line
condolences and inquiries may be directed to www.whitefamilyfuneralhome.com.
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Patrick Terence Hugh O’Neill 19422021..
Death notice for the town of: Kentville, Province: Nova Scotia