PATRICK HERBERT BARTON NAGLE

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PATRICK HERBERT BARTON NAGLE Patrick Herbert Barton Nagle, born August 13, 1934, in Dauphin, MB, passed away suddenly and peacefully Tuesday, January 10, 2006, in Sooke, B.C. Predeceased by his mother Margaret Barton Rixon and his father George Alexander. A loving father, brother, grandfather and uncle, he is survived by brother George (Mary); former wife Jillyan; daughter Margaret (Richard); son Brendan (Mary Anne); grandchildren, Amy and Sarah; nephews, Dave and Geoff (Sharon); brother-in-law Tim Barclay (Karen), their families and many wonderful friends and colleagues. A scribe by trade, Nagle spent his life travelling the globe and telling the stories of its people and places in vivid detail on the pages of major Canadian publications like The Vancouver Sun, The Ottawa Citizen and Weekend Magazine. His life, his work, touched countless people from the Arctic to Zimbabwe. His contribution to contemporary Canadian print journalism, from the chronicling of Pierre Trudeau's political career to the fall of the Soviet Union, cannot be overstated. His gift to all of us was his ability to see things for how they are, not how some wanted us to see them. He'd use the power of his pen to provide great clarity and reason to what were presented as very complex, muddled issues. It was for his determined dedication to what was most important to him, the truth, that he was awarded the Bruce Hutchison Lifetime Achievement Award in journalism from the Jack Webster Foundation in 2001. An avid sports fan and true Canadian through and through, while posted in Ottawa, Nagle could be seen commuting to work on ice skates down the Rideau Canal in -20 C weather wearing a red Hudson's Bay coat and touque, brown leather satchel in gloved hand. He loved his country and its people and took great pleasure in conversing with fellow countrymen in both official languages. He will be missed dearly by all who were fortunate enough to meet him in person or on the pages of the many publications in which his work appeared. A celebration of his life, press-club style, will be held 2:00 p.m. Saturday, January 28, at Steamworks Brewing Co., 375 Water St., Vancouver. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of B.C. and Yukon (www.heartandstroke.ca or 1-888-473-4636) would be greatly appreciated.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jan 17, 2006