Donald Allan “Silver Donald” Cameron - June 1937 - June 1, 2020
With deep sadness we share that beloved Canadian author, environmentalist, communicator, activist and filmmaker Silver Donald Cameron passed away on June 1, 2020, in Halifax, from complications arising from lung cancer. His wife, Marjorie Simmins, was at his side. He was 82.
Born in Toronto and raised in Vancouver, Donald made a life in the Maritimes beginning in the 1960s, and in D'Escousse, Cape Breton, since 1971. He always said that when he came to the Maritimes, he knew he was home. He loved his sailing adventures in the Atlantic region and in the Bahamas and chronicled them in three different books.
In addition to his wife Marjorie, he is survived by brothers, David Cameron (Stevie), Toronto; Ken Cameron (Angie Walkinshaw), Vancouver; nieces, Tassie Cameron (Daniel Wong); Amy Cameron (John Rowley); and Jen Cameron (Hossein Maleki), Vancouver; great-nieces, Sadie, Toronto; and Molly, Toronto; and great-nephew, Will.
Donald was predeceased in 1996 by his wife, Lulu Terrio-Cameron, mother of his youngest son, Mark Terrio-Cameron, Medicine Hat, Alberta. His large and loving Terrio family will miss him greatly.
He is survived by former wife, Catherine Ann Cameron and their children, Maxwell A. Cameron (Fabiola Bazo) and grandson, Gabriel Cameron Bazo, Vancouver; Ian Cameron (Vilma) and grandson, Tahj, Vancouver; Leslie Cameron (Temple Burling) and grandchildren, Aidan and Esme, Kenosha, Wisconsin; and Steven Cameron (Sandra), Hamilton and grandchildren, Nathan Lynde and Samantha Cameron, Alberton, Prince Edward Island.
Don was cherished by his Simmins family: sister-in-law, Zoë Landale (Garnet Coburn, deceased), Pender Island, BC; niece, Jocelyn Coburn (Alberto Milian); and great-niece, Leila Hillifer, Vancouver; brother-in-law, Geoffrey Simmins (Joan); their sons, David and Michael, Calgary; sisters-in-law, Fiona Simmins and Jessica Simmins (Mark Flemming) and their sons, Graham and Alexander, Ottawa; and step-mother-in-law and friend, Karin Weiss (Peter Schimpf), Ottawa.
He also is survived by many wonderful Cameron and Robertson cousins and friends from coast to coast to coast and beyond.
After earning a Ph.D. from the University of London, Donald returned to Canada, where he became a distinguished educator at Dalhousie University, the University of New Brunswick and Cape Breton University, where he was the first Dean of the School of Community Studies.
In the late 1960s, Don embarked on a freelance career as a journalist, author, playwright and documentary filmmaker. He was a columnist for the Globe and Mail and wrote a weekly column for the Halifax Sunday Herald for 13 years. He gained a reputation for having wide interests and for supporting younger writers. As Margaret Atwood put it in an online tribute, “He was interested in a broad spectrum of things and a broad spectrum of people.”
His wide range of accomplishments was recognized in several notable awards: He was the recipient of the Order of Canada and the Order of Nova Scotia in 2012, as well as being awarded the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal. He also received honorary doctorates from the University of King’s College and Cape Breton University and was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society of Canada.
At the time of his death, Don was the Farley Mowat Chair in Environment at Cape Breton University. He was also Host and Executive Director of TheGreenInterview.com, a series of more than 100 in-depth conversations with the thinkers, artists and activists around the world whose ideas and work, he believed, are leading the way to a new era of sustainability. Working with Chris Beckett, his business partner and Green Interview Director, Cameron assembled this collection of interviews during 10 years of global travel and research.
Don was looking forward to the publication in August 2020 of his 20th book, Blood in the Water: A True Story of Revenge in the Maritimes (Penguin Random House). The book explores the layers of economic, cultural and human circumstances that led ordinary, law-abiding people to commit an extraordinary and brutal crime.
An online celebration of Silver Donald Cameron’s life will be held on Sunday, June 21, 2020 at 8:00 p.m. Atlantic time. It will be followed by a boisterous and loving in-person celebration of his life at his home village of D’Escousse when it is safe for all involved. Details of these events will be posted when available at http://www.silverdonaldcameron.ca/.
Donations in Silver Donald’s name may be made to the Woodcock Fund administered by the Writer’s Trust of Canada (https://www.writerstrust.com/), or to Symphony Nova Scotia (https://symphonynovascotia.ca/.
For more information on Silver Donald Cameron’s life and work, including his 20 books, see http://www.silverdonaldcameron.ca/.
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