Wayne "WP" Patrick Patriquin
April 7th, 2015
PATRIQUIN, Wayne Douglas
Wayne Douglas Patriquin (nickname WP) passed away on Tuesday, April 7, 2015 at the age of 66 years, after a prolonged period of deteriorating health. Many thanks to caregivers, nurses, doctors, and friends for support and love over this time.
Born on August 9, 1948 and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Wayne spent the first three years of his life in an orphanage before becoming a foster child of Gerald and Margaret Dooks (a Seventh-day Adventist), who would raise him until he left to attend Oshawa Missionary College, now Kingsway College, at age sixteen. There was a lot of music in the home, and Wayne started study on piano at age four and organ in his early teenage years. Through Wayne’s entire life, Wayne and Shirley Loxdale were important guiding lights.
While at OMC, Wayne studied piano and organ and voice and conducting with Ralph Coupland, who was an important and inspiring mentor who influenced him to pursue a career in music. He would eventually study at the Halifax Academy of Music, Kingsway College, and Toronto University and complete postgraduate work at Westminster College in London, England, where he received the L.R.S. M. (Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music) in piano, choral directing, and pipe organ. He received the A.R.C.T. (Associate of the Royal Conservatory) diploma in voice instruction in Canada. Wayne also studied in the United States where he received diplomas of merit in Christian music, string ensembles and musical arrangements for both choral and keyboard instruments.
Following a car accident at age nineteen that left him seriously injured, he moved to Calgary after his recuperation. Through encouragement from Percy W. Manuel, president of OMC, Estelle Jorgenson, and other friends in the Adventist church during those years, he was able to continue his training and become a significant player in musical life in the Calgary, Alberta, area.
Wayne was a pianist, organist, singer, and conductor, spent forty years teaching, working in church music, and providing music for important occasions. He taught and directed choirs in schools for over twenty years, training several ensembles that won in competitions. In 1978 his North Hill Youth Choir was chosen to represent Calgary and Canada for one week in Disneyland, California. He served as a music specialist for the Calgary Catholic School Board and as an adjudicator and talent coordinator for CBC television and was director of the Petro Canada Choir in Calgary, a group that traveled across Canada with the 1988 Olympic Flame.
In addition to serving as a musician in the Calgary Adventist church, he has provided music and directed choirs in other churches and served as a minister of music in United, Methodist, and Baptist churches. Even though he had to retire early because of health reasons, he continued to be involved in church music in Calgary, conducting master classes and choir workshops. He is known for his Christian influence and the high standards in music he upheld in his privately owned music studio.
He has received local, regional, and national recognition for his musical leadership and contributions in Canada, including the Canadian Citizenship Award, the Alberta Government Award, the Calgary Citizenship Award, and recognition from CBC for his contribution to the betterment of music in his community.
As well as meeting daily physical challenges he continued to witness for his faith and the Christian relationship that sustained him.
A Memorial Service will be held at the Calgary Central Seventh-day Adventist Church, 1920 – 13 Avenue NW, Calgary, AB on Friday, April 17, 2015 at 1:30 pm. His final resting place will be at Eagle Hill Cemetery, Westchester, Nova Scotia.
In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to Osteoporosis Canada, #104, 2526 Battleford Avenue SW, Calgary, AB, T3E 7J4 (www.osteoporosis.ca).Messages:
I knew Wayne well. He always had time for a chat with friends, sometimes gave advice, and sometimes just listened. He would need an ear from time to time because his health caused him some serious issues both physically and logistically, but he would always end up in good humor. He will join his wife and son in heaven; he kept them in his heart until the very end. I will miss Wayne. He was truly gifted, was one of a kind, and was my fiend. Graham LeGeyt
I met Wayne a few different times when I visited my daughter Brittany Bell (Jon Cole) who lived next door to Wayne. He was a great guy. Always smiling and in good humor. Loved to have company visit. Was so sorry to hear of his passing. Nice to think that Wayne is now pain free and with his family. Condolences to his family and friends.
I was one of Wayne's doctors, and he was a continuing source of inspiration to me. Despite his terrible medical condition he maintained an amazing positive outlook, and did whatever he could to help forward the cause of the Osteoporosis Society of Canada (now Osteoporosis Canada). As hard as we tried to find new treatments, he continued to suffer from fractures. I miss him, and wish I could have done more for him.