On January 5th, 1944 Donald Francis McQuay was born in Glasgow, Scotland during an air raid and came to Canada a few months later. Growing up on the family farm in Whitby, ON, he learned the value of hard work and dedication. He went on to have a successful career as a Principal, Senior Environmental Geologist with Gartner Lee Ltd. and later AECOM Ltd., where he was highly respected and admired by his colleagues and clients.
He was the beloved husband of Jann for 53 years and the best dad to his two sons Michael (Vanessa) in Victoria, BC and Darren (Carolanne) in Saskatoon, SK. Don cherished his 12 grandchildren (Meghan, Grant, Allison, Natalie, Grace, Nathan, Katie, Robert, Adelaide, Ivy, Lily and Fern). He was the caring brother of Robert, Mary Ellen, Sean, and Nancy.
Don will be remembered for his kind heart, his unwavering commitment to his family, and his passion for his work. He had a zen approach to life, gardening, woodworking and taking care of his treasured ‘88 Chev Caprice.
On April 13, 2023 Don passed away in Victoria, BC. His presence will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
A Memorial service was held on Saturday, May 13, 2023, at 3:00pm in the Sequoia Centre at McCall Gardens, 4665 Falaise Drive, Victoria, BC. Heartfelt thanks to the wonderful staff at Saanich Peninsula Hospital for their most compassionate care. In lieu of flowers, donations to the hospital in Don’s memory would be appreciated.
~ Fare Thee Well, Love ~
Condolences may be offered to the family below. To view service click on arrow below,
McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com
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David van Rijn
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Erin Thomas Hello, Jann, Mike, Darren and your wonderful families.
Sending you all giant hugs. Don was a wonderful, caring person and he will be deeply missed. I don’t think I ever heard him raise his voice. Mike (Thomas) might have, of course. 😉 But I never saw Don be anything but kind, gentle and patient. I’ll remember him walking around the old neighbourhood, or chatting with Dad, or fussing over that car of his.
Jann, Mom and Dad loved spending time with you and Don. They were always talking about your Cedargrove trips, and what the dogs were up to, and who won at Aggravation.
I’m sorry we can’t be with you tomorrow. We’ll be holding all of you in our hearts and in our thoughts.
Lots of love,
Erin
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Steve, Glenn, Dale, Tom, Mike, Gord, Kimberley, Katherine, Dan, Sandy, Bryan and Jennifer Dear Jann and family, our heartfelt condolences on the passing of Don, from his former Gartner Lee colleagues Steve Usher, Glenn Reynolds, Dale Leadbeater, Tom Wlodarczyk, Mike Roy, Gord Wichert, Kimberley Tasker, Katherine Gibson, Dan Gibson, Sandy Hitchcock, Bryan Valve and Jennifer Owen. Our careers were all touched positively by Don, through his wisdom, experience and patience. He will be missed. We have collectively made a contribution to the Saanich Peninsula Hospital.
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Helen Warren (McQuay) Murray & I send our love & thoughts to cousin Jann & family. We will miss Don immensely, he was one of the kindest person we knew. So many childhood memories. Love cousin Helen
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Peter Nation Dear Mike, Vanessa and family. We send you our condolences. We will pray for the repose of Don’s soul. Peter and Diane
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Gary Markotich Don was a great mentor during my early years as a young consulting engineer at Gartner Lee. I benefited from his sage advice and always tried to emulate his calm demeanour during stressful times at work. I was so sorry to hear of Don’s passing and offer my deepest sympathies to the entire McQuay family. RIP my friend.
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Nina Mcquay Deepest sympathy to all the family. Our three boys Jason, Jamie and Jeremy are all thinking of Uncle Don and family during this difficult time.
Nina
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Jennifer Sparksman I’ll always remember Don eating my lemon meringue and pumpkin pies and scraping the plate clean! He always had a knowing smile in the corners of his mouth and this is the picture I will keep in my mind when I think of Don. With my condolences to Jann and the rest of our extended family, I wish you all healing and peace. It comes in time. With love from Jennifer & Shawn
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Deanna Brown My deepest sympathy to you & your family, Jann. Don was such a kind & gentle soul, and I see that he leaves behind quite a legacy with children and grandchildren following in his footsteps. May memories comfort you in the days ahead. Love to you all.
Deanna
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Doug Brown Don was a gentle soul and will surely be missed by all that knew him. My sincere condolences to Jann and the family. May he watch over you all as your guardian angel.
“Speak thy name and thou shalt live forever”
Love to all.
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Marcela Bazzani Dear friends
That the Divine Mercy of our Lord surround you and the whole family and our lord give you strength
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Julia Sending heartfelt condolences and many prayers for Don and family
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Peter and Cecilia Stocker Dear Jann, Mike and family my condolences to you all for the loss of Don. I remember him as a very kind and gentle man. May the good Lord grant him eternal rest and bring you consolation soon. I big hug to all of you.
Peter and Cecilia Stocker and family
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Jackie Hellard Hugs❤️Thinking of you all.
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Lisa Hooker We will the miss the great Don and are so thankful he had the faith to be part of giving Brent his first job in geology at Gartner Lee in 1996, where we had so many adventures!
‘Blessings to his wonderful family at this time and we are so sorry for your loss.
Sincerely,
Brent and Lisa Belzac
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Nancy Brown Don was a good person. Kind, considerate and dedicated to his family. I had the privilege of a kayak trip with Don and others which was so memorable I still laugh today at some of the highlights. My deepest condolences to you Jann and the family. Love and Hugs…….Nancy
To all those who were blessed with meeting or knowing Don McQuay I will reaffirm that his smile, gentle presence and abundant patience made each of us a better human being.