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David J. McDougall

Retired professor David McDougall died at the age of 82 on 15 October 2002.

He contributed a number of essays to Argonauta. These include: "Notes on Customs Preventive Cruisers, 1897-1931" (VI, No. 2 [April 1989], 5-10; "Notes on Customs Harbour Craft and Preventive Service Boats" (VII, No. 4 [October 1990], 5-11; "Canadian Customs Preventive Cruisers: An Addendum" (XI, No. 1 [January 1994), 11-17; "An Annotated List of Canadian Customs Preventive Service Patrol Boats, 1903-1931" (XII, No. 2 [April 1995], 4-11; "The Customs Preventive Service at Cape Breton: Patrol Boats, Masters and Seizures, 1897-1932" (XIV, No. 1 (January 1997), 2-12; "Liquor Smuggling on the St. Lawrence River in the Early 1920s" (XV, No. 1 (January 1998), 7-13; "The Canadian Customs Preventive Service on the Lower St. Lawrence and the Baie des Chaleurs" (XVI, No. 1 [January 1999], 7-16; and "The Canadian Customs Preventive Service and the Halifax Transfer Grounds 1925-1930" (XVIII, No. 1 [January 2001], 21-33.

David also contributed an essay on "The Origins and Growth of the Canadian Customs Preventive Service Fleet in the Maritime Provinces and Eastern Quebec, 1892-1932" to to The Northern Mariner / Le Marin du nord V, No. 4 (October 1995), 37-57. His essay on "Gaspé-Built Square-Rigged Sailing Ships" appeared in Gaspésie XXIX: Nos 3-4 (sept-déc. 1991), 69-81.

From Concordia University:

He was a founding member of the Geology Department at Loyola College and Concordia University. After earning his PhD in geology from McGill University, Dr. McDougall worked for several years as a mining consultant. He began teaching geology in Loyola College’s engineering department in 1955 and served as chairman of the department from 1959 to 1962. In 1967, almost entirely as a result of his efforts, the department of Geotechnical Science broke away from engineering to join the Faculty of Science. He retired from Concordia in 1990.

Dr. McDougall was involved in university administration, including serving as Associate Vice-Rector, Academic, prior to the 1974 merger. However, he will be best remembered as an easygoing and dedicated scientist to his colleagues, and as a mentor to his many students, said Dr. John Jenkins.

Former student Dr. John Percival, a research geologist at the Geological Survey of Canada, recalls the unique atmosphere of McDougall’s Geology of Canada lectures.

“David would often recollect his own experiences in widespread parts of Canada, weaving in elements of history, frontier culture and wilderness life,” he said.

McDougall’s main research interest was thermaluminescence and its applications to geology. In his later years, he became interested in Quebec’s iron industry, whaling, fishing and his family’s genealogy.

He was predeceased by his first wife, Doris Ascah, and his second wife, Dagmar Jack Brodie, who was an employee of Concordia. Our sympathies are extended to his family, including his stepson Christopher Brodie, also an employee. Donations to the Canadian Cancer Society or the Heart and Stroke Foundation would be appreciated.

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