Obituary of REGINALD F. MACAUSLAND

1944 – 2024 “To make a long story short…” Reginald Frederick MacAusland Junior, gentleman and scholar, Manhattan and BBQ steak-maker extraordinaire, master storyteller, Lincoln Town Car and C&C Yachts aficionado, businessman and builder, also known as “my Reggie,” “dad,” and “Gump,” died on Thursday, July 25, 2024. Reg, the youngest of three siblings, was born in 1944, to parents Reginald Frederick Senior and Rebecca Ruth MacAusland, in Bloomfield, Prince Edward Island. A fifth-generation Islander, he believed that meals were incomplete without potatoes, wool blankets were the key to a good night’s sleep, and a yellow house in West Prince was forever home, even after many years afar. Reg was predeceased by his parents, “Sis” and brother-in-law, Adele (Ace) Clark; brother and sister-in-law, Harry (Rose) MacAusland; nephew, Archie Clark; and nephew and kindred spirit, Dale (Patsy) MacAusland. He is survived by Anne MacAusland, his first love and wife of 58 years; his daughter and protégée, Liane MacAusland (Carlos Mora Baez); and his grandson, Mac Mora MacAusland, who carries on the family name, and his innate curiosity, and affinity for building, Tom and Jerry, solitaire, baseball, and Tim Hortons. Contrary to his mother’s wishes that he, as the youngest son, become a minister, Reg listened to his father’s advice: “You can be anything you want, except you can’t be me.” After a half year at Prince of Wales College, where he learned to play bridge, he enrolled at Dalhousie University, where he completed a B.A. (’68), B.Ed. (69’) and MBA (73’). Between degrees, he worked as an orderly at the Victoria General Hospital and taught at Sidney Stephen High School. Post-MBA, he became Corporate Secretary for L.E. Shaw Limited, and then one of the senior managers who purchased the business from the Shaw family. In 1986 he retired from corporate life, instead putting in 60-hour weeks volunteering with the HRM Regional Planning Committee, HRM Landfill Monitoring Committee, St. Margaret’s Arena & Community Centre, St. Margaret Sailing Club, and St. Margaret’s Bay Saints Soccer Club. He discovered a passion and purpose in home building and was ahead of his time in developing a community around covenants for the use of natural building materials (masonry), and the preservation of trees. He never once described himself as an environmentalist, but he believed strongly in the value of space, the privilege of being close to nature, and quality craftsmanship. His legacy lives on in that community, and its kind, caring neighbors. A voracious reader with a brilliant mind and extraordinary memory, he became a master of many things: The Dam Busters, genealogy, wine (except Italian wine, which he found insipid), poppies, roses, daffodils, and tulips, travel, art, and strategies for auction bidding (albeit with occasionally questionable results!). He spent countless hours listening to different renditions of songs, spanning genres. As his illness progressed, so did his soundtrack, from Que Sera, Sera, Dream a Little Dream of Me and My Way, to Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen and Help Me Make It Through The Night. “That said…” The family would like to acknowledge and thank the many wonderful caregivers who helped us help him eke out as much living as possible during the last three years. Special thanks to Dr. Benno Lang and his staff, Jamie from VON, the staff at Tantallon Blood Collection Service, the nursing team at the Centennial Building transfusion clinic, and the EHS paramedics supporting the Special Patient Program. You gave us the extra moments to make more memories. Thank you. He will be making his final journey home this week.