BARTLETT, Donald McClary
Donald McClary Bartlett
Oct. 16 1927- Mar. 13 2025
If you are reading this, old age finally caught up with me.
I was born in Highland Park, Michigan, to Canadian parents Oliver Russel Bartlett and Frieda Maude McClary. My grandfather, Rev. Leonard Bartlett (1872-1963), was a Methodist minister, and my grandfather McClary, Frederick Decker McClary, was a nephew of John McClary, owner of the McClary Manufacturing Company in London, Ontario.
My parents were married by my grandfather in Thamesville, Ontario, in 1925. They relocated to Highland Park, Michigan, where my father worked as an accountant at the Chrysler Company. In 1931, they returned to London, Ontario, where my father pursued medical school, became a physician, and later an anesthesiologist in Windsor.
I began school in St. Catherine, then moved to London and Bothwell, graduating from high school in 1946. I then relocated to Windsor, where my father lived, and worked as a pharmacy apprentice for three years. During this time, I joined the Essex Scottish Regiment. In 1950, I attended the University of Toronto's Faculty of Pharmacy, graduating in 1952 while also continuing my military training commissioned in the Corps of Infantry.
My first job as a pharmacist was in Windsor, where I married Elana Nikita in 1953. In 1954, we moved to Bermuda, where I worked for two years and where Don Russell and Sandra Frieda were born. We returned to Windsor in 1956. In 1958, I bought a drug store in Selkirk that had been there for 100 years. In 1961, I joined Health and Welfare’s Bureau of Dangerous Drugs as an auditor/inspector in Vancouver, overseeing BC, Alberta, and Yukon, which involved extensive travel. My third child, Leonard Sheldon, was born in 1962. In 1972, I had the opportunity to move to Ottawa, still with the Bureau of Dangerous Drugs, with a professional staff of 45 pharmacists in 5 regional offices across Canada. I retired in 1986, but continued working as a relief pharmacist in the Ottawa area for some 10 years.
After coming to Ottawa, my first wife and I divorced and I married Denise Boucher in 1978, also a pharmacist. We had one daughter, Mélanie Chantale born in 1982. Denise and I shared 46 wonderful years together, especially treasuring our time at our beloved cottage at Blue Sea Lake—until it became too difficult for me to go.
The family recognises its loss of a man with great love not only for them but for his ancestry and friends. He was the elder among many cousins and friends with which he still had contacts.
Don was very independent and hungry for knowledge. His interest in all things was unstoppable: reading, fishing, hunting, sailing, beekeeping, woodworking, canoeing, cross country skiing, gardening, just to name a few. He even wrote an infamous online guide to GPS use for civilians in the 1990’s.
Don was our story-teller, and he sure had many to share… often repeatedly! He proudly considered himself an “old curmudgeon” and did life His Way, including writing a large part of his own obituary.
Don is survived by his beloved wife, Denise Boucher; his children, Donald, Sandra, Leonard (Edie), and Mélanie (Justin); his grandchildren, Jennifer, Duncan, Wesley (Emily), Brendon (Tiffany), Félix, and Flora; and two great-grandchildren.
Don now joins his parents, Oliver Russel and Frieda Maude, daughter-in-law, Bonnie, aunts and uncles, many dear friends, and our beloved family dog, Tessa, who he adored with every fiber of his being. The two of them could often be heard howling at the moon together, so it seems only fitting that he left this world peacefully on the full moon of March 13, 2025.
The family would like to express their deep gratitude to the staff at Perley Health Centre, R2S unit, for their kindness, patience, and compassion toward Don and his family. Thank you so much to all of you. A celebration of Don’s life will take place in July, date to be determined.
In Don’s memory, donations can be made to the Perley Health Foundation (perleyfoundation.ca) or the University of Ottawa Heart Institute (foundation.ottawaheart.ca).
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