Obituary of Wayne Douglas Colwell
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Wayne Douglas Colwell on June 6th, 2025 at the Saint John Regional Hospital after a brief illness. Wayne was born on May 4th, 1943 to Edgar and Ruth Colwell and was married to Margaret J. Colwell (nee Gamble), sharing 58 years as husband and wife. Together they raised three children: Timothy (Wendy), Natalie (Tim Hovey) and Stephen (Nina).
In addition to his wife and children, Wayne is survived by his younger brother, Gary (Lynn) and his five grandchildren: Jack and Kate Hovey (Natalie & Tim Hovey), Violet Colwell (Tim & Wendy), Sabastien and Leif Colwell (Stephen and Nina), all of whom were a great source of pride and joy for Wayne.
In addition to his parents, Wayne was predeceased by his older brother David and several in-laws.
Wayne was born in Saint John and was very proud of his North End roots. After wedding Marg, the newlyweds lived for a brief time in Dartmouth and returned to Saint John after missing NB and family. For many years Wayne and Marg also maintained a summer home in Summerville on the Kingston Peninsula close to Marg’s family. This became a place where many wonderful memories were made, especially Thanksgiving gatherings. For the last 25 years they resided in their dream house on Beach Crescent in Millidgeville where they enjoyed having cocktails on the deck, listening to music and watching the sailboats go by.
Wayne worked for a number of companies in his career in accounting and management, including Coopers & Lybrand and White Trucks, but his longest tenure and fondest memories were from his over twenty-nine years working within the Angus-Miller group of companies, where he retired as General Manager.
Wayne and Marg loved to dance and were a fixture at many of the local dance halls in the area. In addition, Wayne enjoyed sailing his Tanzer 22 (Nereus) and later his Tanzer 26 (Spirit) on the beautiful Saint John and Kennebecasis river system with his family and racing at the RKYC with his son,Tim and good friend, Rick Appleby. He also loved golfing with family and friends- of those, most notably his brothers-in-law Ron and Gord Gamble, and later, son-in-law Tim Hovey. He kept up his social calendar in the cooler months by bowling in a league with his brother Gary. He was also a member of the Thistle St. Andrew's Curling Club, and curled competitively throughout southern NB in the 70s and 80s.
Wayne absolutely loved music, a passion he shared with his youngest son, Stephen. Most evenings, Wayne could be found in his den playing guitar to whatever music was moving him at the time. As a young man in school he also learned to play the clarinet. On his many trips to his son-in-law's family cottage on Oak Bay, he would spend the evenings in front of a crackling fire, glass of wine in hand, in conversation listening to an eclectic mix of music, which he enjoyed very much.
Wayne loved to travel, including trips to Myrtle Beach with his children and extended family, St. Lucia with his brother Gary and friend John Fallon, and a wonderful Mediterranean Cruise with his beloved Margaret. On his 80th birthday he enjoyed his last trip south to St. Petersburg Beach with his daughter Natalie and son-in-law Tim Hovey. While there, he did everything he loved: held hands with Marg, basked in the sun, had a special river cruise, and had his favourite sandwich - Spicy Italian from Subway.
He was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle. He will be greatly missed and always loved.
Arrangements are under the care of Brenan's Funeral Home, where family will receive visitors from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 pm on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. A Celebration of Wayne's Life will be held on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at 11 am in Brenan's Chapel. Those unable to attend the service will be able to view a livestream of the service by clicking on "View Funeral Livestream" on the sidebar of this obituary page. Interment will follow in Summerville United Church Cemetery, and a reception will take place following the interment in St. Bridget's Church Hall.
For those who wish, remembrances to the Heart & Stroke Foundation would be appreciated by the family.
