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- n November 7 in the company of her sons in her room at Parkstone Enhanced Care. Born in 1942 to Bruce and Pauline (McKay) Hart, Valerie?s Nova Scotian roots bridged multiple generations. She spent her first years in the Hart family home on Spring Garden Road, and lived subsequently at 6011 Coburg Road. She attended LeMarchant, Cornwallis Junior High, and Queen Elizabeth High schools, and in youth was very active in figure skating and dance, as well as riding with the Halifax Junior Bengal Lancers. She earned an undergraduate degree in Psychology at Mount Allison University in Sackville, NB, and a Masters of Social Work from the Maritime School of Social Work (Dalhousie).
In 1965, Valerie Hart and Daniel O?Brien (d. 2016) were married in Dartmouth, the beginning of an elegant partnership by which each was nurtured and sustained for 51 years, and though which they enjoyed many personal and professional friendships both at home and around the world. They have two sons profoundly grateful for the love and example they have been given: Prof. Peter O?Brien (Paula Simpson-O?Brien, Halifax), and Fr. Craig O?Brien, SSC (Sackville, NB). Also in Halifax are ?Gramma?s? adored grandchildren, Rachel and Gabriel.
Val?s career as a Registered Social Worker brought her work as a family and child counsellor, notably at the Addictions Research Foundation in Toronto in the 1960s; in Halifax, at the Family Service Bureau during the 1970s and at the Atlantic Child Guidance Centre through the 1980s, and then in private practice in Fredericton, New Brunswick, where Dan was President of Saint Thomas University from 1990-2006. She was Dan?s constant support in that position and in subsequent presidencies at the Atlantic School of Theology and NSCAD, serving an unscripted, but crucial role as host, social convenor, intermediary, and ?fixer,? as well as providing more formal service, like chairing the organizing committee of the Saint Thomas Gala Dinner. Offshoots of her couples, individual, and family therapy were numerous teaching responsibilities, expert witness testimonies, and professional conference and public service presentations. Val served a number of professional associations, including The Nova Scotia Association for Divorce and Family Mediation, of which she was a founding member and president. Her voluntary board memberships included Bonny Lea Farm, Theatre New Brunswick, the Vanier Institute of the Family, and the Muriel McQueen Foundation. Val?s perpetually bright and optimistic disposition was cherished and relied upon by many beloved friends and colleagues, and it was in evidence right to the end, when progressive dementia had quelled her lifelong appetite for constant physical motion. She jogged or participated in aerobics classes daily well into her 70s, and, along with Dan and friends, loved skiing, golfing, and tennis at home and abroad. She and Dan enjoyed extensive travel in Canada and internationally.
Val?s spiritual journey began in the church of her family, St. Andrew?s United in Halifax. In later years she worshipped as an Anglican, and, with her husband Dan, in the Roman Catholic Church. In 2005, she was awarded the Bene Merenti medal, a papal decoration. In a private ceremony, her remains will be interred with Dan?s in the columbarium of St. Augustine?s Church in Chester, NS, where they had a home to which they retired in 2006.
Through life and in her years of illness, Val was buoyed by the love of her many friends and family. We are profoundly grateful to them and to the sensitive and patient attention of her caregivers, and especially Suzanne (Zane) Rasay-Rodillas, Ariane Newton, Dr. Ken Rockwood, and the staff in Parkland Evan Hall and Parkstone Enhanced Care, Garden Court. In addition to her parents and husband, Valerie was predeceased by her sister Paula (David) Mann and sister and brother-in-law Nancy and Donald MacKinnon. As well as her sons and grandchildren, she is survived by her sister Donna Hart (Halifax), brother Reg (Pauline) Hart (Miramichi), brother-in-law Ross (Janet) O?Brien (Dartmouth), and several nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Val?s memory can be made to the Dan and Valerie O?Brien Bursary fund (St. Thomas University), the Atlantic School of Theology or NSCAD University scholarships and bursary funds, the Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia (particularly its Artful Afternoon program), the Northwood Foundation (especially the Adult Day Program) or a charity of your choice. Visitation at Cruikshank?s Halifax Funeral Home, 2666 Windsor Street, Friday, November 13, 7-9pm. Funeral at St. George?s Round Church, 2222 Brunswick Street Saturday, November 14, 1pm, Fr. Craig O?Brien officiating. Protocols for masks, social distancing, contact tracing will be observed.
If you wish to view a recording of the funeral service please click the pr
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1942 - 2020 (78 years)