Remembering those we lost in 2023

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We lost some prominent local people in 2023 who made a difference in our community.

Here are some of those we said goodbye to this year:

Harrison Gilks: Harrison Gilks, who chronicled his life with cancer on social media while checking off “bucket list” items, died March 30 at the age of 18.

The teen from Douglas was known for his love of hockey, softball and rugby, along with skiing, mountain biking or dirt biking. He amassed more than 300,000 followers on TikTok after sharing his cancer diagnosis on the app and while documenting his final adventures – which included trips to NHL and NBA games, visiting the Rocky Mountains, hunting with his father, and a trip to Mexico with family and friends.

Fay Tidd: Fay Tidd, Oromocto’s longest-serving and first female mayor, died Nov. 9 at the age of 94.

Tidd served Oromocto in the mayor’s seat for 17 years – holding office from 1989 to 1995, 1998 to 2001, 2004 to 2008, and 2008 to 2012. She was also a longtime realtor with Royal LePage, selling real estate from 1972 until her retirement in 1998.

Tidd’s other community involvement included serving as president of the Oromocto and Area Chamber of Commerce and as president of the Fredericton/Oromocto United Way board. She was an honorary colonel of the 403 Helicopter Operational Training Squadron at Base Gagetown for seven years. Oromocto’s library was renamed in her honour in 2016.

Angus Hamilton: Angus Hamilton, one of the province’s last remaining Second World War veterans, died April 15 at the age of 100.

Hamilton was a radar technician with the Royal Canadian Air Force. He was born in Listowel, Ont., in 1922 and died three days shy of his 101st birthday. He moved to New Brunswick in 1971 and took on the role of chair of the former surveying engineering department – now the geodesy and geomatics engineering department – at the University of New Brunswick.

Hamilton was later named a professor emeritus and published several books after his retirement. He and his wife, Margaret, and their family ran an apple orchard on their Douglas property.

Peter Kent: Peter (Skip) Kent, a lifelong academic and community volunteer, died June 19 at the age of 84.

Kent was from St. John’s, N.L. He earned a bachelor’s degree at UNB in 1959, followed by a master’s degree and doctorate from the London School of Economics. He took on several academic roles at UNB over four decades, including two terms as chair of the history department and 12 years as dean of the Faculty of Arts.

Kent was also involved in the scouting movement in the Fredericton region from 1958 until his final days.

Brian Cuthbertson: Brian Cuthbertson, a retired army major and historian, died July 15 at the age of 87.

The Halifax researcher and author helped Matawaskiye (Madawaska) First Nation win a landmark federal land claim case in 2021. Cuthbertson previously worked with Matawaskiye Chief Patricia Bernard on several Indigenous land claims.

Cuthbertson’s last book, Stubborn Resistance: New Brunswick Maliseet and Mi’kmaq in Defense of their Lands, was published in 2015. He’s one of three people involved in Matawaskiye’s land claim effort who died in 2023. The others were former UNB professors Elizabeth Mancke and Bill Parenteau.

The federal tribunal case proved Matawaskiye’s historical reserve land had been stolen by non-indigenous settlers. The $145-million settlement awarded in April 2021 to the community of about 350 people in northwestern New Brunswick was the largest land claim payout in Maritime history.

Elizabeth Mancke: Elizabeth Mancke, a former professor at UNB, died Sept. 15 after a brief illness with cancer. She was in her 60s.

Mancke, born and raised in the United States, came to UNB in 2012 as Canadian Research Chair in Atlantic Canadian Studies and professor in the department of history. The author and editor of five books was recognized in 2020 with a UNB Merit Award for her contributions to teaching, research, and university service.

Bill Parenteau: Bill Parenteau, a former professor at UNB, died in October at the age of 63 after a lengthy illness, waiting for an organ donation.

Parenteau, originally from Rhode Island, moved between Fredericton and Ottawa during his academic career, and eventually became a prof at UNB in 2000 where he taught courses on Atlantic Canada and Canadian history, as well as on sport, natural resources, and the environment, and supervised more than 20 graduate theses.

Noël Kinsella: Noël Kinsella, a retired senator and former professor at St. Thomas University, died Dec. 6 at the age of 84.

Premier Blaine Higgs paid tribute to Kinsella on X (formerly Twitter), saying he was “well-spoken and serious, had a dry sense of humour, and was always kind and eager to help up-and-coming individuals.”

Kinsella was born in Saint John and was appointed to the Senate in 1990 by then-prime minister Brian Mulroney. He held many roles until 2006, when he became Speaker of the Senate – a position he held until his retirement in 2014. He previously spent 41 years at STU as a faculty member and sat on the university’s board of governors.