Stuart Donald Mooney
October 22, 1924 - September 20, 2014
Predeceased by his wife Shirley Alaine Mooney, Stuart is survived by his four children Marguerite Mooney, Stuart A. Mooney, Kimble Mooney, Jennifer Mooney-Kelly; grandchildren, Emma Banks, Alex Banks, Stuart J Mooney, Michael Mooney, Steven Mooney, Kristin Mooney, Sean Mooney, Kimble Mooney, Raven Moon and Gwen Wyatt-Moon; and his second wife, Julia Paterson.
Stuart was a good man. Born and raised on a farm in Zealandia, Saskatchewan, he had the work ethic of a farm boy and was a child of The Depression, an event that was formative. He was the third of nine children. During “the dirty thirties” the family lost the farm. Stuart’s father died when he was 14 years old and he lost his mother at the age of 17. With the help of Aunt Dorcus, Stuart, his older brother Doug, and his older sister Shirley kept the family together, working and providing for their siblings as if they were parents. Stuart joined the navy in 1942 and saw active duty overseas. He graduated from UBC as Mechanical Engineer in 1952 and was the President of Graduating Class.
His career started in the pulp mill in Ocean Falls, BC but more importantly this is where he met his wife Shirley. Early in his career, with the urging and support of Shirley, he became a consulting engineer with Sandwell Inc, working around the world. They lived, worked, and raised their children in Campbell River BC, Khulna, Bangledesh, Vancouver, BC, Lebel-sur-Quevillon, Quebec and Colombo, Sri Lanka. After the children were grown, Stuart continued working overseas including India and Turkey.
In all the years of Shirley and Stuart’s marriage and in Stuart’s subsequent years, his home was open to family and friends. He was generous, kind and open. The reason he worked so successfully around the world was that he held no prejudices.
Stuart himself would admit himself that he could be “hard nosed” but often his tough demeanour was revealed to be a shell. He was always there to help. This was most evident when Shirley developed cancer, in the last two years of Shirley’s life, Stuart looked after her devotedly.
Stuart rebuilt his life and home in Qualicum, BC after Shirley passed away. He was an active parishioner at St Mark’s Anglican Church where he met and married Julia.
Stuart was not perfect, he could be stubborn, garrulous and overly fond of scotch. But any imperfections were outweighed by his innate generosity, his protective and loving nature, and all that he gave to his wives and children. We were very fortunate children.
Marguerite, Stuart, Kimble and Jenny
A Memorial Service will be held in Stuart’s honour at 2:00 pm
on Saturday, October 4th at St Marks Anglican Church,
138 West Hoylake Road in Qualicum Beach, BC.
To send a condolence to the family please visit www.yatesfuneral.ca
YATES FUNERAL SERVICE & CREMATORIUM
(250-248-5859) in care of arrangements.