NEW GLASGOW – Charles Reginald “Reg” Gunn, 84 of New Glasgow, passed away peacefully with his immediate family by his side on Sunday, November 25.
Born on August 6, 1928, he was the only son of Cecil and Lilian Gunn, and called New Glasgow home for almost all of his life.
After graduating from New Glasgow High School, he earned Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education degrees from Mount Allison University in 1951. While at Mount A he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Argosy Weekly campus newspaper in 1949-50. Reg taught high school in New Glasgow and Westville for five years before pursuing further education at University of Toronto, from where he obtained a Masters of Education degree in 1957 and a Doctorate of Education in 1967. He served as Superintendent of Schools for the town of Westville from 1957-1982, and then as Superintendent of Program for the amalgamated Pictou District School Board until his retirement in 1986. He also played active roles in a number of educational administration organizations including: President of the provincial School Administrators Association in 1963-64, and Chair of the Board of Governors of the Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation from 1969-1972.
Reg was a life-long Boy Scout beginning as a cub at the age of nine and continuing to be active in the movement, boy and man, for 75 years. He enthusiastically assumed many volunteer roles over the years at the local, provincial and national levels, including a stint as Provincial Commissioner for Nova Scotia from 1978-1984. In 1982 the Governor General presented him with a Silver Wolf award for exemplary service to the Canadian Scouting movement. Reg was also a long-time active member of the Westville Rotary Club, from 1957 to 2011, serving as its president from 1961-1963. After retiring from work, he served the Rotary organization more broadly in the role of District Governor in 1988-89. He had been a recipient of Rotary International’s Paul Harris Award on three separate occasions. Another retirement project for Reg was the Clan Gunn Society of Nova Scotia which he helped found in 1988. He served as its president in 1990-1992, and for 20 years as its genealogist and editor of “Gunnsmoke” – the society’s newsletter. He was also a proud member of the St. Andrews Society of Pictou County and served one term as its president. He heartily enjoyed summers with his family at the cottage in Bayfield, and was a perennial winner of the annual Gunn family croquet tournament, not to mention the evening scrabble games. He will be sorely missed on both fronts.
Reg is survived by Phyllis (King), his wife of 62 years; four offspring and their spouses: John (Elaine Cook) in Vancouver; Robert (Hélène Landry) in Ottawa; Bill (Jeanine Deveau-Samuelsson) in Bayfield, NS; and Ruth (Julian Youle-White) in Seattle; and seven granddaughters: Jennifer, Kayla, Natalie (Michael Abrams), Isabelle, Lisa, Heather and Audrey.
A funeral service to celebrate Reg’s life will be held in Trinity United Church, 151 Temperance Street, New Glasgow at 1 p.m. on Friday, November 30, with a reception following in the church hall.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Rotary PolioPlus Fund or a charity of choice.
Arrangements are under the direction of the R.H. Porter Funeral Home, New Glasgow.
Condolences may be sent by visiting: www.rhporter.ca