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March 27, 1989 – January 19, 2026

Casey died at the Vancouver home he shared with his best friend. He was the beloved son of Andra Norberg and Carson Petrie, and brother of Gavin Petrie. He grew up with his family in Whitby, and had regular contact with his aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Casey was a Man For All Seasons: a true force of nature. He excelled academically, completing a BSc, MSc, and MD at ����ֱ��. On graduation, he was given the Prize for Medical Ethics and the Professors’ Prize for Emergency Medicine. He often spoke of the importance of Dr. Michael Kawaja’s constant support and direction to him was through his graduate years and after. Casey spent five years studying and practising emergency medicine at Kingston Health Sciences Centre and in a hospital in a Capetown ghetto, before he moved to B.C. to undertake a fellowship in pain management through U.B.C.’s Faculty of Medicine.

Athletics has always been integral to Casey’s life and well-being. He found his true passion playing rugby in high school and university. Playing rugby for Queen’s provided him with great happiness, friendship, as well as growth in personal and physical strength. He was so moved by the team spirit that he had his team’s motto tattooed on his chest over his heart. Our thanks go to those dedicated coaches and outstanding teammates who helped Casey further his understanding of sport in the development of a man.

Casey loved to spend time in nature, challenging himself in various outdoor activities, including climbing mountains and ice walls, racing in triathlons, swimming through St. Lawrence ice flows, and biking and hiking B.C. trails. The memory of the triathlon that he, his father, and brother competed in as a team will always last.

Throughout his life, Casey was a keen and talented photographer of flowers as well as of his wonderful girlfriend of many years. His mother cherishes the two albums he gifted her of his amazing flower photos. He also had many flowers tattooed along his arms. Casey loved animals. In his earliest years he loved to hold the leash to walk “Bubby” our golden retriever named Buddy.

Casey was greatly appreciated for sharing his extensive medical information whenever he was asked, including by his parents and friends.

Within his strong six-foot, three-inch physique, Casey was a sensitive and kind young man. After years of the stress of emergency medical training and practice, and his efforts to make a difference for those in pain, he struggled immensely with depression and PTSD. Despite seeking respite and various treatments, Casey could not see himself accomplishing his dreams. He would have made a difference. He will be greatly missed.

“Good night sweet prince and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”

There will be no service along with his cremation. may be made to the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI) Mental Health Research Teams at the Mathison Center Lab under the direction of Dr. Leah Mayo, where they research approaches to mental health and relief of stress. 

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the unexpected passing of David Hart Clark, who passed away peacefully on Sept. 22, 2025, in Fredericton, New Brunswick, at the age of 77.

David was born on March 11, 1948, in Ottawa, Ont. A devoted husband, loving father, and proud grandfather, David’s greatest joy was his family. He is survived by his beloved wife, Alfreda Clark; his son, Josh Clark (Kailey); and his daughter, Sandy Brown (Mike); brothers, Terry (Sue), Alan (Carolyn), John (Lindsay); and sister, Barb; many brother-in-laws, sister-in-laws; and nieces and nephews whom he loved so much.

He will be deeply missed by his cherished grandchildren, Peyton and Auston, who brought immense pride and happiness to his life.

David had many passions in life, travels, and adventures – from working as chef in Switzerland to Kingston, including Fredericton at the Delta. He also enjoyed working many summers as a greeter at the Country Pumpkin down in Maugerville. 

He had studied many different specialties, chef training, and theology. He had a love for figuring things out and working on a plan. No matter what the issue or event was he always had a to do list with boxes that needed check marks once accomplished.

He spent about a year working at L'abrie in Switzerland in the '70s; his job involved reception work, talking to people, and some odd accounting.

Once finished there, he moved back to St. Louis to study theology, another strong passion of his. After that he ended back in Canada to study chef training at George Brown college in Toronto. 

It was on a trip to New Brunswick for a friends wedding when he met the love of his life, Alfie. Eventually they moved back to Fredericton and started their family. David was a great friend to many, but most of all he loved his children and is proud of them today.

One of his most memorable traits was he loved to chat! No matter who or where you were, he would chat for hours if he could. He was always one to call and then thank you for calling him. 

David had many health struggles throughout his life, but never once did he let that limit what he could do. He would pick up a project and work little by little with naps in between 'til the job was done. David’s presence will be missed – not only by his family, but by all who knew him. His quiet strength, kind heart, and steady support were a foundation for those fortunate enough to be part of his life.

Professor Axel Becke, FRS, FRSC, Harry Sherriff Professor of Chemical Research (Emeritus), one of Dalhousie's most impactful researchers, and one of Canada’s top scientists, passed away on Oct. 23, 2025, in Halifax.

Axel Dieter Becke was born in Nellingen, Germany, in 1953, and came to Canada with his parents at age three, landing in Halifax. He was the first of four brothers, and from the early days of his life, it would become apparent that he would be first in whatever he decided mattered to him.

His parents, Helmut and Hannelore, created a supportive and nurturing life and learning environment for the family. As Axel wrote for a celebration of life for his father just a few weeks before Axel’s own death, “My parents instilled in me a love and curiosity for science as far back as I can remember. Christmas gifts were educational, not just for fun. Meccano sets and Lego sets; chemistry, electronics, and physics sets. Dad found a chemistry textbook at work once, gave it to me – I devoured it from cover to cover.” He was a tinkerer in his early life, spending much time by himself building things and playing with machines and gadgets. But as his studies in physics progressed, he became more interested in where formulas came from and in the theories behind them.

While he made quantum leaps, and quantum chemistry became his life’s work, Axel had other early interests in life in which he excelled. In 1970 he leapt almost 23 feet to set a Canadian age-class record in the long jump. He won the Canadian Accordion Competition. He had the top marks out of high school, and went on to win the gold medal in engineering physics at Queen’s. He was always the best at what he did, in all matters, and later in the study of the motion of electrons, in all matter, as a leader in density-functional theory.

Axel spent his entire career in Canada: Bachelor of Science in Engineering Physics from Queen’s; MSc (1977) and PhD (1981) in physics from McMaster University (with Professor D.W.L. Sprung, supported by an NSERC 1967 science scholarship); Killam Postdoctoral Fellow (1981-83) and Eastburn Postdoctoral Fellow (1983-84) at Dalhousie University with Professor Russell J. Boyd; first independent academic career at Queen’s (assistant professor 1984-89; associate professor 1989–94; professor 1994-2006); and from 2006 until his retirement in 2015 (when he was appointed emeritus), he was professor and Killam Chair in Computational Science, and Harry Shirreff Professor of Chemical Research at Dalhousie University.

Axel received many awards and honours, including an NSERC University Research Fellowship (1984-1994), 1991 Medal of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science, 1994 Noranda Lecture Award of the Canadian Society for Chemistry, 1999 ����ֱ�� Prize for Excellence in Research, 2000 Schroedinger Medal of the World Association of Theoretical and Computational Chemists, Killam Research Fellowship from the Canada Council for the Arts (2005-2007), Killam Chair in Computational Science at Dalhousie University (2006-2016), 2009 John C. Polanyi Award of the Canadian Society for Chemistry, Harry Shirreff Professor of Chemical Research (2011-2015), 2014 American Chemical Society Award in Theoretical Chemistry, induction in the Discovery Centre’s Nova Scotia Science Hall of Fame in 2015, the Chemical Institute of Canada Medal in 2015, and the Canadian Association of Theoretical Chemists Honorary Lectureship in 2017. He was a Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada, Fellow of the World Association of Theoretical and Computational Chemists, Member of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (elected 2000), and Fellow of the Royal Society of London (elected 2006). Professor Becke was recognized with the very highest scientific honours in Canada: both NSERC’s Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering in 2015, and the Canada Council Killam Prize in the Natural Sciences in 2016.

These awards were in recognition of Axel’s transformative scholarship in the field of quantum chemistry, with significant impacts in many fields of science. Methods developed by Axel Becke are used worldwide, by all major pharmaceutical companies for the development of drugs, by the petrochemical industry for the design of better catalysts, and by many other industries and academics for the development of new materials. Even NASA scientists employ Becke's computational methods to support their space exploration programs through modelling of materials.

In 2014 the journal Nature compiled a list of the 100 most-cited scientific papers of all time. Numbers 8 and 25 were single-author papers by Becke. These two seminal papers continue to be cited and are generally acknowledged to have been instrumental in the awarding of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Walter Kohn and John Pople. Pople and Kohn never missed an opportunity to cite and acknowledge Axel’s contributions to the field.

Axel’s first conference presentation was in Halifax in June 1981 at the 64th Canadian Chemical Conference. The one-day symposium on theoretical chemistry, organized by Russell Boyd, opened with a keynote lecture by John Pople and concluded with a brilliant lecture by a then-unknown Axel Becke. Many of the participants later asked the organizer, “Who is that guy?”. Axel never forgot when and where he met John Pople, who in turn followed Axel’s work very closely and supported Axel’s successful nomination as Fellow of the Royal Society of London.

Axel was not just an impactful researcher, he was also a talented teacher. His lectures were clear and engaging, even when the subject matter was very difficult. He won the Queen’s Chemistry Department Student Council Award for Excellence in Teaching (1987) and the ����ֱ�� Engineering Society “Golden Apple” Award for Excellence in Teaching (1992). He was happy to teach, as long as it was not early in the morning.

Axel was no doubt brilliant, persistent and determined, but if you met him, you would find him to be thoughtful, pleasant, and unassuming. Kind and gentle.

Axel loved the outdoors. He enjoyed the many parks, ocean vistas and destinations the Halifax area offers. Earlier in his life, he treasured the annual Algonquin Park family camping trip. As a teenager, he went on canoe trips that were certainly not leisurely, mountain hikes that felt like a time trial. It was always hard to keep up with him…

Axel was laid to rest in Oakridge Memorial Gardens, Halifax. At the top of the hill.