Donald Watson

October 13, 2022

It is with a heavy heart I announce the unexpected passing of Donald Patrick “Hoss” Watson.

I don’t deal well with grief, and I find this grief particularly hard to handle. He was a good friend and a larger-than-life presence. He was a passionate sports fan, lifelong lacrosse player and coach and always appreciated the CFL for throwing a party every year around his birthday.

Hoss was born in on November 27th, 1951, to Mary and Robert Watson, the third of three sons. He is pre-deceased by all his family, the last of his clan. His father was a Navy man, and his mother was his creative spark, a writer and musician.

Don was always athletic and became well known playing high school football for Dartmouth High, and then Dalhousie University. He got his nickname because there was a big football player for the Shearwater Flyers with the name of Hoss Watson, so the name stuck. Lacrosse came into our lives in that high school period and became a lifelong passion. His biggest claim to fame came as a goaltender in lacrosse, and he led several teams provincially and nationally to championships and tournament medals. He was often awarded MVP awards for his ability in championships. During and after his playing days, he became a goaltender coach and did so in Nova Scotia, Alberta, and finally British Columbia. He was always working on the idea that all goaltenders in all sports had to have the same mentality and had visions of a ‘Goaltenders Union’ website to share strategies. He shared some happy moments with me of watching some of his kids using his ideas and perplexing the opposing forwards. Another moment was attending the ceremony of the induction of our coach, Bill McBain, into the Lacrosse Hall of Fame as a builder, an award that Hoss lobbied for extensively.

He was always entrepreneurial, and created summer jobs for himself during high school, primarily teaching lacrosse.

After his Dartmouth High days, Don went to Dalhousie University, and thrived. He became a member of Sigma Chi fraternity, to which he was loyal. He got a job with Dal security, and later Dal bar services as a Grawood lounge bartender, which paid for his education. So many friends were made in those days and hilarity ensued. So many things that happened, some not so clear in memory, others so clear! And Hoss kept photographic evidence, to use as blackmail in the future if needed.

In the middle of all that Hoss still played lacrosse, so well that he received an invitation to try out for the Montreal Quebequois, and after a gruelling camp, he was the last cut. They wanted to keep him but did not have the budget for a third goaltender. So, he came back to Nova Scotia, and we went to the 1978 Senior B Championships, and won the Silver Medal, which was not presented to us for 20 years. An oversight, Hoss and Bill McBain were instrumental in getting Lacrosse Canada to correct.

He had fun things that kept his mind active. He had a theory that there was an underlying kinship in goaltenders of all sports, and there were basic similarities in those that stick their faces in front of rapidly moving projectiles. So, one of his projects was a website called the GoaltendersUnion.com, and he tried to get others interested. Another pet project was to collect lacrosse equipment from over the years to donate to the NS Sports Hall of Fame.

In the mid 1970’s, Hoss, being entrepreneurial, started organizing events, and at one point we were security for a visit by Queen Elizabeth to Saint Mary’s University. In 1976, he was hired to put on an event at the Halifax Armouries, a reception for 2000 people attending the annual meeting of the Canadian Federation of Biological Societies. So, he hired a bunch of friends, and knocked it out of the ballpark. He received a lovely letter of appreciation from the NS Provincial Government Protocol Office. But there was not enough work in that area, so he decided to go west after graduation. After Dal, he moved to Alberta, and went to work in the oil patch, starting with Reed Tubular. He worked his way up to being a Contracts Manager. When a downturn happened in the late 1980’s, he started his own company, DonMar Consulting, and went out as an independent rig manager. During his Calgary days, he continued to play and coach lacrosse, play, and organize flag football, and volunteer as an organizer for the 1988 Calgary Olympics. In 1989, he helped organize the victory parade and civic reception for the Stanley Cup winning Calgary Flames. The next year he assisted in the preparation and realization of the 1990 27th Luge World Championships for which he received recognition from that organization.

Eventually, a recession happened again in the oil industry in the 1990’s, so he migrated to Vancouver, where he became an oil handling expert and Emergency Response Consultant. He read extensively on coming trends and decided that environment protection would be a growing industry. He took all the courses to qualify to become an Incident Command Trainer for Emergency Management. He became an emergency response equipment supplier and trainer to many companies which handled hazardous materials. He vertically integrated his company (himself), to advise on what equipment was needed to respond to a disaster, supply the solutions (equipment) for the problem, and train the staff on how to implement the equipment to meet the regulatory requirements. And still, he found time to coach youngsters in the finer details of goaltending.

And golf...

After playing recreationally and occasionally for years, having been a caddy at Brightwood Golf Club in his youth (still has the caddy hat he wore), he took up golfing seriously in his forties, learning how to build clubs and took lessons. Dave Pelz was a guru, and Hoss took to the long putter like he took to goaltending, with an analytic eye. You could not get anywhere near his through line without a scathing glance. One of his claims to fame was our win in the University Golf Club’s Alternate Shot Tournament, with a scintillating (net) 9 under par over the last 8 holes, to win by one! He was brilliant on the back nine! That putter was on fire!

Of his many achievements, some serious, some not so much...he became a member of the National Geographic Society in 1979: welcomed into the Fellowship of the Lord of the Rings in 1980: became a Life Loyal Sig in 1981, supporter of Canada’s America’s Cup Challenge in 1983, participant in the Labatt’s Touch Bowl, 1984, Incident Command Level 400 in 2007. He has pictures of himself on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise too, and photoshopped in as well.

Donny’s seasons were defined by the Maple Leafs and the Calgary Flames, golf, MLLacrosse, the Calgary Stampeders, the Miami Dolphins, and repeat.

He could be ornery, but he had a heart of gold. Relationships were important to him. He saved things from friends that he had in high school because they were from friends. He stayed connected with people and he always kept his word.

You could see the importance he placed on memories from what he saved. His elementary school records, his high school clippings, university yearbooks and Sigma Chi memorabilia, Midtown Tavern T4 proving he worked there once, letters from people he worked with, Calgary adventures, Vancouver memories...

This has taken a while to put together because there is so much to say, but it must end as I cannot keep coming to this and adding another couple of paragraphs every time I think, oh yes, I should mention something else. It is hard to sum him up in a couple of pages, so if you have memories of your own, please add them to the memorial. He would appreciate being remembered.

We would like to have a memorial get-together to remember Hoss in 2023, perhaps at a favourite watering hole of the big fellow. We will post a notice in that regard on this memorial.

You are invited to leave a personal message for the family.

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