November 15, 1920 – September 19, 2018
Passed away peacefully, after a brief illness, on September 19th, 2018, at the Providence Care Centre, in Calgary, Alberta, at the age of 97. Beloved husband of 55 years of the late Margaret Mary (Molly) McCallum (nee MacFarlane) of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, and dear husband of nine years of the late Barbara Weaver (nee Archibald) of Truro, Nova Scotia. Loving father of Richard (Glenda Donnelly and the late Eleanor Liston) of Vancouver, David (Maureen) of Calgary, Andrew, Robert (Mary), and the late Gregory, all of Ottawa. Cherished “Grandy” of Aran Cameron (Joan), Dillon Cameron (Cheryl), and Owen Cameron of Vancouver; Janice and Tanya (Alex Watt) of Calgary; Christopher and Daniel (Adrienne Potter) of Ottawa; and Rachel, Evan and Colin of Ottawa. Proud great-grandfather of Jesse, Molly, Miles, Hudson, Callahan, Emily, Kimberley, Nick, Lucy, Colin and Maisy. Devoted son of the late Ada Swallow Johnson and the late Martin Blair McCallum of Truro, Nova Scotia. Survived by sister Shirley Hill of Ohio. Predeceased by brothers Chester, Lloyd, Leo and Elroy. Ralph was born in Truro, Nova Scotia on November 15th, 1920. After his mother’s death in 1935 he left school to work with his father’s lumber company until the outbreak of World War II. He proudly served with the North Nova Scotia Highlanders, landing at Juno Beach during the D-Day invasion. He was wounded on June 21st, 1944 in the battle of Caen and returned home to Nova Scotia to convalesce. Ralph and Molly were married on August 28th, 1945, and after graduating from St. Francis Xavier University in 1951 with a degree in Economics, Ralph worked initially as an accountant in Antigonish and later as the Controller at St. Rita’s Hospital in Sydney, where he also served as an alderman on city council. In 1962, Ralph and Molly, who were by now blessed with five sons, decided to move the family to Ottawa, where Ralph worked with the Department of Veterans Affairs until his retirement in 1979. The next two decades involved travel to visit family and several trips to Europe, card-playing, golf, and their much-loved winters in Florida, where Ralph and Molly made many new friends at the Upriver Campground in North Fort Myers. In 2000, Ralph and Molly decided to move back to Nova Scotia, where Molly sadly died only a few months later. Ralph remained in Antigonish, and several years later reconnected with Barbara Weaver, who had been his girlfriend during his teenage years, and who had also lost her spouse. Ralph and “Barbie” married on November 9th, 2002 and lived happily in Truro until her passing in 2012. Ralph then decided to move to Calgary to live with his son David and his wife Maureen, enjoying nightly games of cribbage, exploring the neighbourhood and spending time with his western family members. After his health started to fail, he moved into Providence Care Centre in 2016. Ralph’s family is grateful for the care provided by Providence’s staff during the final years of his life. A funeral will take place at 11 a.m. on Saturday October 20th, in St. Ninian’s Cathedral, Antigonish, followed by interment and a reception at the John Paul Centre.

Servants of God – Well done
Your glorious warfare past
The Battle fought – The Victory won
And You are crowned at last
~McCallum Family Tombstone Inscription