����Pro

Please feel welcome to submit memories of departed Allisonians you have known and loved.

John S. Hart — 1938
Rowena (Neal) Watson — 1940
Molly T. (Simmons) Critchley — 1948
Grace E. (Thomson) Ferguson — 1948
Doreen E. (Murray) Fraser — 1951
Inez J. (Caverhill) French — 1951
Shirley A. (Flemington) Tait — 1951
Mary E. Rand Tracy — 1951
Elizabeth (Newell) Hall — 1953
Gordon H. McConnell — 1953
Joyce E. (Wright) Murray — 1954
Frank W. Lockhart — 1955
Graeme H. King — 1960
Carol E. F. (Thompson) Gibson — 1961
G. Wylie McMullen — 1968
Carl D. Ash — 1971
Darcy Neal-Croteau — 1980
James Mancuso — 1984
Timothy D. Atkinson — 1987
Ker S. Wells — 1985

Dan C. Patridge — Former faculty
Tamra Farrow — Former staff
Ross B. Eddy — Former Board of Regents

DARCY ELIZABETH NEAL-CROTEAU (’80)
Submitted by her husband Sylvain Croteau

Darcy Elizabeth Neal-Croteau (’80) and MA (Université de Sherbrooke, 1982), died June 5, 2019 after a courageous battle with cancer.  Her family was with her: husband Sylvain Croteau; daughter Myriam Croteau Divert of Skellefteå, Sweden; son Syméon Croteau and his wife Ariane St-Laurent of Gatineau, QC; and daughter Rachel Croteau of Gatineau, QC.  Her life was celebrated at her church (Assemblée Chrétienne Bonne Nouvelle) in Quebec City and again at the Church of the Redeemer, Rosseau, ON.  Interment of her ashes was at The Old English Cemetery near Rosseau. Throughout her illness, Darcy kept a blog called Body, Mind and Spirit: A Cancer Journey, which can be viewed at . Darcy was the daughter of Sarah Ditchburn Neal and Frederick Jefferson Neal (’51).

JOHN STEWART HART (’38)
Submitted by University Archivist David Mawhinney

On Sept. 18, 2016 a Royal Canadian Air Force flypast marked the 100th birthday of John Stewart Hart, the last known Canadian pilot of the Battle of Britain. He died June 18, 2019 at his home in British Columbia. Hart was born in Sackville, NB on Sept. 11, 1916, the son of local dentist Edward Hart and his second wife, Sarah Stewart, who taught wood carving and leather tooling at ����Pro. Jairus Hart, the benefactor of Hart Hall, was a distant relative. John studied at the ����Pro Academy beginning in 1931 and in 1936 entered ����Pro. He did not complete his degree, instead earning his pilot’s licence from the Halifax Flying Club in 1938. Later that year he went to England and joined the Royal Air Force, eventually serving in Europe, India, and Burma. He was married twice: Joan Kenneth (1916-1977) and Bette Curren (’39) (1917-2013). His passing marks the end of an era. At his flypast in 2016, Hart dedicated the recognition to “those who fought and died and to those who survived, that we do not forget them.” The ����Pro community will long remember this Canadian hero.

MOLLY TRAPNELL (SIMMONS) CRITCHLEY (’48)
Submitted by her daughter Wendy Davis Johnson

Molly Trapnell (Simmons) Critchley (’48), artist, author, loving wife, and mother of four, grandmother of six, and great-grandmother of one, passed away on Aug. 8, 2019 in Halifax, NS.

Molly was born in Digby, NS in 1925. She and her sister, the late Jeanne Lusby (’46), and brothers, the late Donald Simmons and the late Robert Simmons, were raised in Amherst, NS. Molly’s talent and passion for art were evident early in her childhood and eventually led her to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

It was at Mount A that Molly met David Critchley (’47) (d. 1993), a Bermudian student. Molly always said that she fell in love with David on their first date — a Sadie Hawkins dance to which Molly invited David — and stayed in love with him for the rest of her life. He, in turn, was captivated by her radiant smile and exuberant spirit as so many were throughout her life.

They married in 1948.

In 1951, they returned to Bermuda where their first child, Wendy, was born in 1952.

In 1953, David’s career took them back to Canada, where Beth, Spencer, and Owen were born. The family lived in Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Halifax before returning to Bermuda in 1972.

Throughout, Molly pursued her calling as an artist. She produced hundreds of canvasses, and exhibited in galleries in Bermuda, North America, the U.K., and Europe. Her solo exhibits were presented in Berlin, Toronto, Halifax, and Bermuda. She participated in group shows in New York, Canada, and in London, England. Molly was a founding member of the Bermuda Society of the Arts and taught art at the former Robert Crawford School for Boys and at Warwick Academy.

Molly wrote and illustrated two books — A Victorian Nova Scotia Christmas (1994) and Childhood Then (2001). Both were inspired by childhood summers on the Amherst Shore and trips to Prince Edward Island to visit her father’s family.

Donations in Molly’s memory can be made to the Children’s Art Education program at the Owens Art Gallery.