Obituary of Donald Joseph MacLellan

It is with great sadness that we share the passing of our beloved father and grandfather, Donald Joseph MacLellan, who left us on Saturday November 9th, 2024 at the age of 91 years. Surrounded by his loving family in his final moments, he was a man of great faith, wisdom and integrity, cherishing every moment with his loved ones. 

Born on March 1, 1933 in Big Marsh, Antigonish County he was the third child of Thomas and Charlotte (MacKinnon) MacLellan. The early years were not easy for Donald as he lost his mother at a very young age to tuberculosis.  One can assume this is what led him to have a very close relationship with his siblings. When he was two years old, they moved to St Mary’s Street. Donald’s Aunt Kate moved in with the family which enabled his father to work and keep the family together. He chose to enter the working world at an early age, joining his father who ran a horse and wagon taxi and transportation service around Antigonish town and county. Donald contributed to this business for many years and he was very proud of the important role his father played in the community. Following that, he worked for The Casket office, M&M Motors and Antigonish Wholesalers. During his younger years, Donald worked as a lineman with the Western Union Telegraph Company which ran from Vanceboro, Maine to North Sydney, Nova Scotia. During his six years of service he worked on over 700 kilometers of telegraph lines. When he was 23 years old he started work with the Town of Antigonish Electric Utility where he had a 44 year career as a lineman until he retired as supervisor in 1999.

From 1955-1962 Donald was an organizing member and captain of the Western Union Tug of War team which won the heavyweight division for each of those years in our local exhibition. With this same team they had also won numerous Maritime championships. From these roots his love of tug of war continued throughout his life and was passed on to his grandsons.  

Donald held many lifelong friendships during his working career, one of whom was John Farrell whose wife happened to be the former Ida MacMillan. Through John and Ida, Donald met Ida’s sister Claire who subsequently became the love of his life. They married on September 20, 1961 and had 44 wonderful years together, shared with three children, and a life filled with laughter, commitment and friendship. During these years the family made many long car trips across Nova Scotia attending horse shows, fairs and sporting events. Along the way countless friendships and memories were made.  

The love of agriculture and animals ran deep in his family. In 1957, Donald bought three small homesteads located in Beaver Meadow, Antigonish County and started farming at a larger scale with a team of horses. In 1960, he bought one of four Charolais yearling bulls that had come from Toronto.  These bulls were the first Charolais bulls to come into our part of the country. He has been keeping such bulls ever since. In 2019, Donald humbly accepted the Nova Scotia Cattle Producers “Producer of the Year” of which he was extremely proud. Today, MacLellan Farms still thrives where Donald started it all.

Donald was actively involved in our local community through many organizations. He enthusiastically lived his faith as a eucharistic minister for St. Ninian Cathedral and he was an active member of the Knights of Columbus, each for more than 35 years. His humanitarian deeds also extended to the Antigonish Town Volunteer Fire Department where Donald was a member for 47 years, 25 as Fire Chief. Throughout this time he received two medals of bravery; one from the RCMP and one from the Governor General of Canada for two separate acts. In 2000, a group of Nova Scotia farmers took on the responsibility of continuing the Cape John Community Pasture Co-op. Donald was a board member of this group since it’s inception and continued in this role for the rest of his life. Some of Donald's earliest memories were of the Fair and of his father showing horses. This led to his lifelong devotion to the Eastern Nova Scotia Exhibition. In 1968 he joined the Board of Directors which had eventually transitioned into his role as Manager in 1974. Over the past 50 years Donald and his team have contributed tremendously to the continuation of agriculture in our community. 

Bub was a people person. Everyone he met was greeted with a smile and a firm handshake. This would then turn into a hug, a wink or by him saying “hello pal”. The simplest of pleasures brought great joy to Dad; watching his grandchildren play sports, going for Sunday drives (with a purpose), a homemade meal and a cup of tea or sitting on the side by side keeping a close eye on his cattle. 

Left to mourn Donald’s passing are his children Tom (Dawn) and their sons Cory (Rachel), Ryan (Marley) and Ben; Claire and her sons Bradley and Gregory; Kate (Charlie Boyd) and their children Charles, Donald, Tyler and Allison, all of Antigonish. Also, his brother Colin (Shirley), sisters-in-law Margaret Beaulieu and Barbara Yorke and many nieces, nephews and friends.  He was predeceased by his wife of 44 years Claire, his parents, step-mother Mary (Rogers), sisters Sarah Catherine (in infancy), Jenny (Joe) MacGillivray, Marnie (Danny) McVicar, Chris (Ken) Carter and Charlotte (Terry) Chew.  As well, his brothers and sisters-in-law Anthony, Walter and Ronald MacMillan, Kathleen Bonvie, Veronica Kell, Mamie MacDonald, Ida Farrell and Dorothy MacMillan.

Visitation will be held from 7:00-9:00pm Wednesday, November 13 and 2:00-4:00 and 7:00-9:00 pm Thursday, November 14 and 12 noon until 1:30 pm Friday in MacIsaac Funeral Home, 61 Pleasant Street. Funeral mass 2:00 pm Friday, November 15 in St. Ninian Cathedral, Reverend Donald MacGillivray presiding. Burial in the parish cemetery. Donations may be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundation, St. Ninian Cathedral or simply to take time to volunteer if you are able.

The family would like to express their thanks to Dr. David Cudmore for his many years of support and the staff at St Martha’s Regional Hospital for their care of Dad during his brief illness.