The Old Campbellian Society is saddened to learn of the passing of Dr Richard F Addison OC 4131, formerly of Davis's House who died on 5 December 2024.

The obituary below was shared by his life long friend Geoffrey Shanks OC 4203:

It is with great sadness but the fondest of memories that we announce the death of Dr. Richard F. Addison. Richard grew up in Belfast Northern Ireland, attending Campbell College and then gaining his PhD in Chemistry at Queen's University. He spent his youth exploring the wilds of his native Ireland, especially the Mourne Mountains, developing a passion for the outdoors that continued throughout his life.

Shortly after marrying Jean (née Buchanan), with whom he would go on to celebrate almost 60 years of happy marriage, the young couple emigrated to Halifax, Canada in 1966. Their son Michael was born shortly thereafter, with David following in 1971. Richard spent the first 25 years of his career working at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth, N.S. and spent the final years of his career as Head of Ocean Chemistry at the Institute of Ocean Sciences in Sidney, B.C.

Richard was a highly regarded research scientist, publishing over 90 articles, and an internationally recognized expert in the field of marine environmental biochemistry. He was a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and of the Chemical Institute of Canada. During his career Richard greatly enjoyed the many opportunities he had to work abroad, in places as varied as China, Germany, South Korea the Canadian High Arctic and Sable Island.

He was an avid and skilled outdoorsman, particularly enjoying canoeing in the backwoods of Nova Scotia (a passion he shared with a generation of young Halifax kids as a leader with the 4th Halifax Scout Troop), as well as the rivers of Northern B.C. and the lakes of Wells Grey Provincial Park. Later in life Richard spent many happy hours tending his allotment, restoring old canoes, and travelling frequently with Jean, visiting friends and family in the UK and his sons and grandchildren in Switzerland. Despite often musing that “we are not here to enjoy ourselves!” Richard enjoyed life's many simple pleasures, including good books, hot baths and single malt whisky- often all three at once.

His dry wit, keen intellect and amiable personality won him many friends wherever he went and he will be dearly missed by his wife Jean; sons: Michael (Michelle) and David (Sandra); his grandchildren: Stuart and Emily and his sister Helen (Langslow).

Ne Obliviscaris