David Alexander Winton Stronach

A MEMORIAL SERVICE WILL BE HELD 11:00 AM, THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2024 AT NEW HOPE COMMUNITY CHURCH, HWY 3, WESTERN SHORE. BURIAL WILL FOLLOW IN THE WESTERN SHORE CEMETERY.


Stronach, David Alexander Winton, of Western Shore, Nova Scotia, formerly of Burlington, Ontario, passed away on December 7 th , 2023 (75). David (Dave) was a talented artisan. Dave may be best known for the many scroll saw wood art pieces he made that hang or sit in many of his friend’s and family’s homes. Before he started scroll saw art, he was an amateur photographer who developed his pictures in the basement of his Burlington home. Earlier in his home in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Dave carved miniature tall ships and magically put them in a bottle.

Dave loved the outdoors. Despite a chronic heart disease, he would camp, hike, portage, and canoe many campgrounds, trails and lakes in Ontario. One of his favourite trails he frequently hiked with his sons was the Bruce Trail and the Devil’s Punch Bowl Trail in Stoney Creek. Dave loved to camp, canoe, and take canoe trips in Algonquin Park. He purchased a used cedar strip canoe, paddled it through smoke Lake, and portaged it into Ragged Lake with his sons. These trips resulted in many memories and stories that will be told for years, including “Bears can’t swim.” A story about his youngest son, who was concerned about meeting up with bears as they camped. Dave gently assured Jason that bears could not swim and that he would be camping on an island. Jason’s concerns were quelled with his father’s assurance, and Dave, his friend Terry and the boys were off on their first canoe trip, paddling through Smoke Lake, then a short portage into Ragged Lake. They paddled into Ragged Lake. Not long into their paddle, they saw a mysterious black image moving across the lake. Everyone in the canoe debated what this could be as they moved towards it. Guesses were shouted out, including a loon, otter, beaver, and escaped dog. As they got closer, it climbed onto the shore, and the black bear revealed itself. The myth that bears cannot swim was dispelled. Despite this revelation, Dave and the boys took many canoe trips into Ragged Lake, and his love for the outdoors continues with his boys.

Dave graduated from the Public Health Inspector Program at Ryerson University in 1972, shortly after he started a 35-year career in public health with the Regional Municipality of Halton. Throughout his career, Dave was recognized for many accomplishments, some accidental, such as being the only health inspector in the history of public health in Halton to be attacked by a rabid animal. Some of Dave’s more intentional achievements include his involvement in uncovering the cause of many deaths in a nursing home, and recognizing the cause as a rare Legionnaire Disease outbreak. His involvement and recommendations stopped the outbreak, resulting in many interviews for TV and newspapers. Later, Dave co-authored an academic paper on this rare outbreak, resulting in many interviews for TV and newspapers. Dave also crated one of the first computer-based health inspection reporting systems used in Halton Region, later adopted by Ontario’s Ministry of Health. Dave received the prestigious Halton Achievement Award for his many accomplishments. Upon his retirement, Dave was defined by his friends and co-workers at Halton as “beloved”.

Dave moved to Nova Scotia in November of 2009, bringing with him his love of the sea, adventure and the excitement of a new beginning. Weekends were spent preparing for these adventures … packing picnic lunches (couldn’t forget the egg sandwiches with more onion than egg) and going on endless drives to seek out hidden coves, beautiful scenery, museums, beaches, and little Mom and Pop restaurants that served the best fish and chips. During these weekend excursions, Yvonne soon realized (much to her delight) that Dave was not a man who would pass up a yard sale or a flea market and often sought out and found new-to-him treasures and trinkets. He had a special kind of love and adoration for sailboats and lighthouses and bought many over the years. It’s an understatement to say that Dave loved a bargain. He would dicker over the price of an item at any sale and if he left with something that he even paid 25 cents less than the asking price, then he considered himself the winner and would walk back to the vehicle with not just the “treasure”, but the greatest sense of pride and the biggest grin of accomplishment on his face.

In 2010, Dave became a member of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #144 in Western Shore. Not only did he enjoy the activities the Legion offered such as darts (sometimes leaving with more chalk on his pants than the scoreboard) but his strong sense of duty and wanting to help and be a part of his community led him to volunteer and serve as both treasurer and service officer at various points throughout the years.

Dave was an avid historian. He was amazed and considered himself lucky to live just a stone’s throw from the oh-so-famous Oak Island. He delved into Nova Scotia’s history, especially local history, doing research and scooping up any book he could find. In true Dave fashion, he started volunteering at the Lordly House Museum in Chester in 2012. He quickly became the computer “guru” and started installing programs, hooking up the wi-fi and was responsible for the Lordly Ledger, a newsletter about events and plans for the society until 2019. He compiled graphics and text and edited the project “The American Connection”, which was supported by a grant from the Canadian Heritage Museum. He was always a supporter of new ideas and was a willing participant in technology plans for archiving photos and recording other archives.

Dave loved gardening, both vegetables and flowers. He preferred eating snow peas right off the stem instead of cooked. Every summer there was always a tiny Tim tomato plant on the patio so that he could pick them at his leisure and pop them in his mouth for a snack whenever he wanted. Red and white impatients were his favorite flower and he always planted them under the apple tree so they were in full view when he sat on the patio relaxing, book in hand and a diet drink by his side.

Dave touched the lives of countless people throughout the years. He was thoughtful, kind, would lend a hand to anyone in need, and boy did he have a great sense of humour! His passing has left an emptiness and a huge hole in the hearts of all those who loved him but as long as there is a picnic to pack, cove or beach to explore, restaurant to try, garden to plant, or deal to be made, these should be considered “Dave moments” and he will live forever in our hearts and memories.

Dave is beloved by many and is survived by his partner Yvonne; his son Richard and wife Shannon Stronach of Kingston, Ontario; his son Jason and his wife Simone of Clarendor, New Brunswick; grandfather (Papa) of Anderson, Kaelyn and Robert Stronach; estranged wife Dorothy and predeceased by brother Robert (Bob) and sister-in-law Vivian Stronach.

The family would like to thank Dr. Salomon, the nurses and the staff for the exceptional care Dave received as an inpatient at the South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia . In lieu of flowers, we would kindly ask for donations to be made to the South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater through the Health Services Foundation of South Shore https://www.healthservicesfoundation.ca/.