Peter Francis NEARY

1938 - 2024

Born August 15, 1938, Bell Island, Conception Bay, Newfoundland; died March 14, 2024, St. Joseph's Hospice, London, Ontario, Canada. Predeceased by his parents, Peter Francis and Margaret (Dalton) Neary; brothers, John, Stephen and Gerald; sisters, Margaret Durkin and Mary; niece, Paula; and nephews, Gerald and Bernard. Leaving to mourn his beloved family: wife, Hilary (Bates); sons, Nicholas (Kristine Spekkens) and John (Sonja Babovic); grandchildren, Ella and Charlie Neary, Colin Neary and Lillian Nickerson; sister, Anne Reed (Dave); nieces and nephews, Janet and Karen Neary, Andrea Zucca, Stephanie, Monique and Pierre Neary, Rodney Parsons, John Durkin, Brenda and David Reed; brother-in-law, Jock Bates (Liz Wanzel); sister-in-law, Rosemary Bates Terry; and nieces-in-law, Sarah Iwakabe and Hilary Bolton. Peter joined the Department of History at the University of Western Ontario in 1965 and taught until his retirement in 2005. He also served as dean of the Faculty of Social Science. He wrote extensively on the political, economic, and social history of Newfoundland, on many of the artists who painted her land and sea, and on the development of Canada's policy for veterans of the Second World War. His last two books were written with Melvin Baker and published by McGill-Queen's University Press: Joseph Roberts Smallwood: Masthead Newfoundlander, 1900-1949 (2021); and Out Here: Governor Sir Humphrey Walwyn's Quarterly Reports from Newfoundland, 1936–1946 (June 2024). Peter was devoted to his family and friends (especially to his four wonderful grandchildren), to wide-ranging conversation, good food and books, music, his church, vigorous walks in Gibbons Park, and picking berries on the hills of Newfoundland. He had never turned an ignition key in his life. The family thanks the medical and nursing staffs of University Hospital and St. Joseph's Hospice for their compassionate care of Peter. Cremation has taken place. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Peter's Cathedral Basilica, 196 Dufferin Avenue, London, Ontario, at 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, April 3, 2024, followed by burial at St. Peter's Cemetery, 806 Victoria Street (west half), and a reception at St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church Parish Hall, 511 Cheapside Street. Arrangements are being overseen by Harris Funeral Home. Donations in Peter's memory can be made to St Peter's Cathedral Saint Vincent de Paul Society, 511 Cheapside Street, London, ON N5Y 3X5; to the Dean's Excellence Fund, Don Wright Faculty of Music, Room 210, Talbot College, University of Western Ontario, London ON N6A 3K7; or to a Charity of Your Choice. Requiescat in Pace, Peter Francis Neary.