HANLON, Terence

69, died suddenly at home on Sunday, April 16. Beloved husband of Jeanne Fay for 41 years, Terence was pre-deceased by his father and mother, James E. and Catherine (MacIssac) Hanlon; his brothers Gerard, Paul, and Kevin, and his son, Philip James (PJ). He is survived by his wife, Jeanne Fay, step-daughter Krissa Fay, and grandchildren Michael and Maura-Jane O’Donnell. Terence was born in Sydney and brought up in Canso, Nova Scotia. As a young man, he became noteworthy in Canso for being probably the first and last library patron to order in the Communist Manifesto. Terence worked at the fish plant (Acadia Fisheries) with his mentor and life-long friend, Jack Meade, during the Canso Fisherman’s strike (1970-71). Terence and Jack were fired by Acadia Fisheries for refusing to turn fire hoses on the draggermen as they landed at the wharf to sign union cards. In another act of solidarity with local fishermen, Terence quit his job in 1976, as manager of a small fish-buying station owned by National Sea Products, when he was ordered, in spite of dismal catches, to take from the fishermen’s settlement the percentage they owed the company store. Jeanne and Krissa Fay arrived in Canso in 1974, and Terence and Jeanne were married in 1976. PJ was born in 1977. Between 1977 and 1984, Terence worked in community economic development at the Topshee Institute, St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, creating a community-controlled fund for economic development in the Mulgrave, Guysborough, Canso area. He was instrumental in getting a new hospital built in Canso, and in making Parks Canada aware of the importance of Grassy Island as a historic site. He continued in the same vein with the Digby and Lunenburg Development Commissions between 1984 and 1990. Terence was a brilliant strategist, often taking aback government bureaucrats who wrote him off as a rube from a fishing village. Then he took the boat building course at NSCC in Bridgewater and worked as a shipwright for Cecil Heisler for 20+ years, until bad hips prevented him from climbing the ladder to the wharf. Terence had a lot of grief in his life: his mother died suddenly when he was 16, his father shot himself in 1975, and his beloved son, PJ died in a car accident in 2003. He also had a lot of joy. He had a wicked sense of humour and a twinkle in his eye when he delivered witty, ironic remarks. He was a strong, quiet presence that Jeanne, especially, has relied on since the day they met. Terence loved small children from the time they could sit up until the time they could talk back. He preferred solitude and spent many hours walking the shore with his dogs, on the water in the many boats he owned over the years, and reading, always reading, sometimes both a book and a magazine while watching sports on TV. In a crowd you would often find him with the little children or sitting quietly in a corner. In his solitude, Terence always had time for his family, including sisters-in-law Barbara Pinkham, Mary Lou Archibald, and Karen Hanlon. He spent many hours driving PJ and his friends to hockey and baseball practice; and Krissa to her friends. He was renowned for his decadent chocolate cake among friends and family, and the squash soup he made for community lunches at Second Story Women’s Centre. Krissa and grandchildren Michael and Maura-Jane became a mainstay for him and Jeanne after PJ died. In these last couple of years he has waited on Jeanne hand and foot, and spent hours with Lucy dog, his constant companion. Terence was a man of few words; it was his actions that spoke loudly of his love of justice, the rural people he grew up with, and his circle of friends and family. A gathering to Remember Terence Hanlon will be held on Sunday, April 23, from 2-4 pm at the Mahone Bay Center on School Street in Mahone Bay. Donations can be made in his name to Fisherman’s Memorial Hospital, Lunenburg; Second Story Women’s Centre, Lunenburg; or Mahone Bay Centre, Mahone Bay.