Mount Uniacke councillor Cyril McDonald dies following battle with cancer
The Municipality of East Hants is remembering Cyril McDonald, a councillor for Mount Uniacke.
McDonald passed away on April 10, 2018.
“Today is a sad day for East Hants,” Warden Jim Smith said in a news release the municipality issued announcing the councillor’s death. “Cyril served his community with great enthusiasm and took his responsibility as an elected official very seriously. He will be missed on council.”
McDonald was first elected to Council in October 2012 and most recently served as a mem- ber of the Nominating, Fire Advisory and Executive Committees of Council, and was a member of the Colchester-East Hants Library Board.
The municipality lowered the flags to half-mast at the Lloyd E. Matheson Centre in Elmsdale to honour McDonald on April 10.
The councillor had been battling colorectal cancer.
Elie Moussa, a fellow councillor, said McDonald was more than just a colleague but a friend and a leader in the community.
“Over the years I got to know him more personally and he was a very kind man who would do anything for anyone in the community. He had a big impact on the cadet program in our community.
Even after his health took a turn for the worse, he was always the first person in attendance for the cadets fundraisers. He loved his community and would do anything in his power to make it a better place,” Moussa wrote in an email to the newspaper.
McDonald was described as a family man who was very thoughtful.
“Anyone who knew Cyril knew just how family oriented he was, there was nothing he loved more than his wife and children. He was very kind and approachable and could strike up a conversation with just about anyone. He loved to golf and enjoyed the outdoors.
“As a councillor he took his job very seriously; he was smart and fought for what he believed was best for the entire municipality, especially for his community. He was dedicated to doing the best job he could, even from the hospital would do whatever work he could,” Moussa noted.
“He was a big supporter and contributor of the memorial parks that pay respect to two members within our community, he was determined to make sure that their memory lived on.”
A memorial service was planned for April 14 at the CFB Wardroom Bridge for 11 a.m.