Jack Huestis McGrath, 87, of Victoria Beach, NS, passed away on September 14, 2025, in Annapolis Royal. There will be no Funeral service. Burial will take place at Victoria Beach Cemetery on Sunday, October 19, at 2pm.  Kaulbach Family Funeral Home has overseen the cremation arrangements.

Jack is survived by several nieces and nephews as well as step grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his wife, Ardath (Reagh-Connell), parents Howard and Ruby, brother Gordon, sisters Elva and Carolyn.

Jack Huestis McGrath was born in Victoria Beach NS, to Howard and Ruby (Haynes) McGrath on February 18, 1938.  He attended the school at Victoria Beach.

 A scallop fisherman at heart, Jack spent many years on the water. This enabled him the ability to see many different places as they pulled into ports up and down the eastern seaboard and all over the Maritimes. Newfoundland was a favorite, as was Virginia. Jack worked at Casey’s Fisheries in Victoria Beach until retiring.

Jack had also worked for awhile at Lake Louise Chalets in Alberta, travelling by train. He missed his stop once and actually jumped off the train and walked the fourteen miles back! Jack also claimed to have been a cowboy.  Riding horses and rounding up cattle in Alberta. He was quite proud of that as it sounded unbelievable for a ‘Beachman’! Didn’t matter how often he did it…he did it!

Jack was old fashioned. If you said you would do something he expected you would. Your word meant something in his world. Jack always believed what his father had told him. “If a man has no debts, he is a very rich man.” He lived by that his entire life.

Jack and Ardath moved in with his mother to help her in her final years and, as had been a family tradition, sold his own house to his stepson for a dollar. Jack had bought it from his uncle for that price as had his uncle before that. Oh, how times have changed!

After Ardath passed, Jack spent his time watching TV, listening to country music classics and entertaining friends with several games of crib (most of which he won). The stories and laughter were plentiful on those occasions. Gone were the days of Bingo trips, hunting and fishing, or travelling places, and with failing health Jack had to move to the Annapolis Royal Nursing Home.

Jack’s claim to fame was his ability to recite the alphabet backwards faster than you could do it forwards! He would also sing a certain song that was taught to him years ago. We’ll never again hear the authentic version of “I Sh*t my Corduroys!”. He shared these talents and his recollections with his fellow residents and staff at the Annapolis Nursing Home too. They loved it and always wanted to hear more!

Special gratitude to staff members of Annapolis Royal Nursing Home that made a lasting impact on Jack’s life while there, specifically the ones he nicknamed Dognut, Pork Chop, Slip and Slide, and The Man with the Red Shoes. You know who you are. Thank you!!

Memorial donations may be made to Nova Scotia Ground Search and Rescue, Annapolis County Team, P.O. Box 234, Bridgetown N.S., B0S 1C0.