Obituary of Eric Wainwright Bliss

It is with great sadness we announce the passing of John Bliss on November 4, 2020, at the Fredericton Hospice with the love of his life, Dorothy, at his side. Born on February 13, 1933 he was the son of the late George Bliss and Gladys (Wainwright) Bliss as well as the beloved husband of Dr. Dorothy McDade. John had a successful career as a civil engineer, was known as a hard worker and continued his work well after his retirement. He married his soul mate, Dorothy, in 1971 and they were seldom seen apart. They travelled all over the world together and made many fond memories throughout their travels and adventures. Somehow with John’s busy career and home life, he managed to keep himself involved with many organizations, groups and clubs. John finished his successful engineering career as the Engineer for the City of Fredericton. In this position he was, among many other successes in the department , responsible for improving the quality of drinking water in the city and has had a water filtration building named in his honour. Along with Lydia LaPointe John was instrumental in developing the "Forever Fund". This fund collects donations from Fredericton citizens to provide the United Way with an endowment fund that will sustain the United Way indefinitely into the future. John was an engineering graduate of UNB and has generously given back to the University through the Bliss Family Scholarship, UNB Development and Donor Relations, and the Beaverbrook Scholars. As a Beaverbrook scholar, John kept an interest and was involved with the group that continued to collect and protect money for the organization. He was also on the Awards committee that determined future Beaverbrook scholars. Despite being an engineer, John was interested in and generously gave to many organizations involved in theatre and the arts, some of which are Theatre New Brunswick, Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton Arts and Learning, and Dance Fredericton. The Fredericton Community Foundation was also the benefactor of John’s involvement and generous financial contributions. He not only contributed, but was involved in collecting money during the five year building fund for the Fredericton YMCA. The Bliss/McDade room in the new building is evidence of his involvement. Among other organizations that benefited from John’s participation were the Garrison Club, the Whiskey Tasting Society, and the Forest Hill Cemetery. He will be greatly missed by Dorothy, brothers Robert (Bob) and George (Tim) Bliss, sister Iris Bliss, brother-in-law Harold (Bud) McDade (Alma of McAdam), sister-in-law Lula McDade and nephews, Gerry Poirier, Richard Feeny (Ann). Visitation will be held at McAdam’s Funeral Home on Friday, July 8th, 2022, from 3 – 6 pm. A funeral service will be held at J.A. McAdam Memorial Chapel on Saturday, July 9th, 2022, at 11 am. A live stream of the service will be available to watch at https://vimeo.com/event/2259781 . For those who wish, donations in John’s memory may be made to the United Way Endowment Fund, UNB or another charity of John’s interest.