George Derek Black

George Derek Black, age 82, died January 11, 2018, in Stuart, Florida, following complications from heart surgery. He was born on September 5, 1935, in Sackville, New Brunswick, to Lt. Col. Robert S. (OBE) and Florence (Heustis) Black. Derek attended Rothesay Collegiate School in Rothesay, New Brunswick, following in the footsteps of his father and brother. He went on to graduate from Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, with a major in history and a minor in psychology. An avid basketball player (at almost 6'7", is it any wonder?) Derek led his various school teams to many a victory and continued playing well into his adult life.
From there, Derek began a proud and fulfilling teaching career with stints at The Carteret School in West Orange, NJ, and Salisbury High School in Salisbury, NB, before a storied 15-year tenure at Far Hills Country Day School in Far Hills, NJ.
Throughout his life, Derek was also enthusiastically involved in camp life, starting in 1949 as a camper himself at Camp Aldercliff in Weymouth, Nova Scotia, an institution he always remembered fondly. He soon became a counselor, then head counselor, before finally becoming assistant director of the camp in 1964. Inspired by his time at Aldercliff, Derek founded his own camp, Camp Falcon, the following summer near Port Elgin, NB, which remained in operation until 1974.
In 1978, Derek bought The Oldwick Book Shop, where he was able to indulge two of his greatest passions: books and friendly conversation. The store had many regular visitors who would stop in to chat with Derek on a variety of his favorite subjects: history, Broadway musicals, the New York Yankees, etc. During this time he also published Election Canada (later rereleased as Winners and Losers), about Canada's electoral history (featuring, of course, Derek's illustrious relative, Sir Robert Borden).
The book shop was also, in the form of some of those afore-mentioned chatty patrons, responsible for introducing Derek to his future wife, Paula, in November 1979. They married June 21, 1980, in Bedminster, NJ. A daughter, Faith, followed in May 1981, and she soon also became a frequent visitor to the little bookstore on Main Street, curating the children's department.
Derek spent the next ten years in retail before retiring and getting his real estate license in his spare time. He sold a few houses but was happy to have a new way to meet friends and neighbors while having plenty of time to be at home with his wife and daughter and indulging his newly found talent for cooking.
In 2003, Derek returned to Canada with Paula and settled in Perth, Ontario, where they immediately found a wonderful home and community and have lived happily for the last fifteen years. Like many Canadians before them, in the past seven or so years, they also became "snowbirds," decamping to Jensen Beach, Florida, for four months of the year to escape the brutal Canadian winters and take full advantage of the beach and abundant seafood.
All of these jobs, activities, and locations allowed Derek to spend his time the way he liked best, in conversation with people: at work, at the supermarket, on the beach, at restaurants. He was fascinated by people and loved getting to know more about the lives and stories of those he met. Friendship was incredibly important to him, and he made friends throughout his whole life in every place that he lived. Some friendships were just casual and only lasted for as long as he lived in certain place. But there were others that he was deeply committed to that lasted for decades and, indeed, lifetimes.
He is survived by his wife of thirty-seven years, Paula (Striffler), their daughter, Faith (Black) Ross, son-in-law, Morgan Ross, grandson, Charles, and many loving nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by brothers, David, Michael, and Robert. There will be private memorials for family and close friends in NJ in May and Perth in June.