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In memory of those who have Crossed the Bar
BENNETT, Richard Avery - Richard's mother's family built schooners on the Bay of Fundy, then sailed and captained them. As a boy he worshipped his grandfather, Pa Newcombe, a kind, gentle man who could build or fix almost anything with his hands. Richard built his first boat when he was about fourteen. Around the same time, he made a small wooden jewellery box, lined with satin and inlaid with wooden hearts, for his high school sweetheart, Nancy. It may have been her most treasured possession.
In high school he joined the Cadets, commanded by his principal, Mr. Rhodenizer, who was also Nancy's father. Richard thought the world of 'Rhody'—a smart, stern, fair man who quietly helped people and never wanted credit for it. Richard went on to serve in the Royal Canadian Navy aboard HMCS La Hulloise and was proud of that service all his life.
He studied mechanical engineering at Nova Scotia Technical College and earned a prestigious Athlone Fellowship, which took him to Great Britain to practise engineering at Metropolitan-Vickers in Manchester, England. After returning home, and with he and Nancy expecting their first child, he took up a career as head of the drafting department at Hawker-Siddeley in Trenton, Nova Scotia, eventually rising to Chief Estimator. Whatever the job, boats were never far away. He owned many over the years, some he built and some he bought, and other boaters used to say you could always tell which ones were his by the way they were kept. This passion overtook him, and he left Hawker-Siddeley to become a partner in Stright-MacKay, Ltd., a builder of high specification wooden boats, both sail and power, up to 65 feet in length. He successfully managed the transition of Stright-MacKay from wooden boat building to yacht sales, to marina operator, and finally to one of the largest marine equipment distributors in Canada.
Summers belonged to Point 44 where he and his father had cottages. He rebuilt his cottage into a year-round home for his family single-handedly, a claim Nancy, the kids and the occasional friend who did much of the carrying were willing to let him keep. There he taught his children to swim, to sail (starting in a Sabot pram Richard built), to water-ski and to windsurf. More than once, when a storm caught other boaters out in Little Harbour, he took his Boston Whaler, Moby, out to bring them in. He was a patient teacher, but there was a right way and a wrong way to do everything, and the right way was his. On fine days, the whole family spent hours in the sun and water over at the Sandbar.
He married the girl he made the jewellery box for and never loved anyone else. She didn't know much about boats and couldn't run or fix one, but for years she was beside him in Moby on trips up and down the Saint John River. She packed the lunches and watched the scenery go by, and every year they stayed at the Steamer Stop Inn in Gagetown, New Brunswick. On the water he was relaxed and sure of himself, far from the pressures of work.
Away from the water, he loved the field. He hunted birds with Shadow, his springer spaniel, who had the run of the house, slept on the bed with Nancy, and got away with things no other dog of his ever did. He loved describing how she would sense a bird before he did, freeze, point, flush it, and bring it back after the shot. Other hunters offered him several thousand dollars for her. He kept her. He was also a founding member of the Pictou County Trap and Skeet Club, which is still going today. He was a fair shot, and he beamed every time he told us about his first 100 straight.
He never stopped working with his hands. When he moved to Woodburn, he built a woodworking shop, and in his seventies built his last boat, Avery Newcombe (named after his grandfather). After test sailing her, he donated her to the Northumberland Fisheries Museum in Pictou, where you can see her today.
He wanted to make sure his father's cottage would always stay in the family, and it has. His great-grandchildren now spend their summers at Point 44.
Richard was predeceased by his wife, Nancy (née Rhodenizer), sisters Doreen, and Nancy McRae (Jerry, deceased). He is survived by sons, Paul (Miriam), Tim (Jacinthe), Peter (Sandra), grandchildren, Chelsea Bennett-Colonese (Jordan Colonese), Joshua (Stacey Litjens-Cusan), Corey, Sarah (Mark Roussy), Isabelle (Isaac Houston), and great-grandchildren, Maisie and Bennett Colonese, and Beau and Jack Roussy.
Cremation has taken place. Committal will be in Lorne Street cemetery. A Celebration of Life will be held on Thursday, October 22, from 2-4 pm at the Little Harbour Community Centre. Donations in Richard's memory can be made to the Sandbar Mental Health Endowment of the Aberdeen Health Foundation, a funding stream created by Richard and Nancy Bennett. (The Halifax Chonicle Herald 17 Oct 2026)
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