Dad quietly passed away at the Milford
Haven Home for Special Care, Guysborough, NS on July 19, 2015 at the
age of 88, within a few hours of the passing of his beloved wife of 61
years, Betty.
Born June 29, 1927 in Truro to the late Thompkins and
Olive (Anstey) O’Halloran, he graduated from Antigonish High
School and was a proud graduate of St. Francis Xavier University,
earning both a Commerce degree (1952) and a Bachelor of Education
(1956). As a young man, he worked for his father driving the delivery
truck for the family-owned business , Home Bakery, delivering to
institutions and businesses in Antigonish and Guysborough counties. He
taught and served as a school principal in Antigonish County at
Lakevale and Maryvale schools and at the former Antigonish High. He
also worked as an employment counsellor with Canada Manpower in both
the Antigonish and Port Hawkesbury offices, and later, he owned and
operated the Valley View Motel in
Antigonish.
Dad was a very active volunteer in a variety of
organizations, serving as president of the Antigonish Chamber of
Commerce and the Antigonish Golf and Country Club. He was a Grand
Knight of the Knights of Columbus and was an active member of the St.
Vincent de Paul Society. He also served as Antigonish Town Councillor
and Deputy Mayor and on the Antigonish District School Board.
Highly competitive, Dad was always up for a game of
bridge or shooting a game of pool. He attributed his skill at the pool
table to ‘my misspent youth’. Dad loved books -
sometimes reading two or three at the same time, choosing books that
taught rather than entertained. When he enjoyed good health , his
children loved to watch him guide and glide Mom around the dance
floor. He once wrote about himself ‘My only claim to fame is
I married a Cape
Bretoner’.
Paul leaves behind his children, Maureen (John
Halstead), Dartmouth; Kathleen, Dartmouth; Bill (Kathy Gillis),
Dartmouth; Michael (Sheila) Antigonish; Mary Beth (David Floyd),
Kentville; Cabrini (Mark Gavin), St. Andrews; Leone, Dartmouth; and
Robert, Dartmouth; grandchildren Bridget & Liam
O’Halloran, Dartmouth; Corinne and Michaela
O’Halloran, Antigonish; Patrick O’Halloran,
Halifax; Olivia Floyd, Kentville and James Floyd, Halifax; as well as
his most loyal supporter and best friend, his sister Clare.
He was predeceased by his parents; his brothers,
Bill and Earle; his sister, Marion Mullaley; and parents-in-law, Frank
and Clara Turner.
Paul’s family wishes to thank the doctors,
nurses and staff at the Milford Haven Home for Special Care. Their
kind and gentle treatment of both our parents was such a comfort to us
all.
Cremation
has taken place. Visitation will be held Thursday in C.L.
Curry Funeral Home, 135 College Street, Antigonish, from 2 to 4 and 7
to 9pm. Funeral Mass will be held Friday at 1:00pm in St.
Ninian Cathedral, with Reverend Donald MacGillivray
presiding. Burial in the parish cemetery.
In
Memoriam, donations may be made to the Recreation Department of the
Milford Haven Home.