http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/Deaths.20080308.93143471/BDASto ry/BDA/deaths Saturday March 8, 2008 Globe and Mail DeMONT, Eric Gordon, Q.C. - 80 Died in his sleep at his winter retreat in Hilton Head Island Thursday, March 6, 2008. Born August 29th, 1927 in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, he was the second of three boys born to Clarence and Mabel (nee MacKeigan) DeMont. Eric is survived by his wife of 51 years, Patricia (nee Rowe) and his three children, Christy (Toronto), Frank (Robyn Eaton) (New Glasgow) and Richard (Montreal) and his two beloved grandchildren, Isobel Ruth and Campbell Eric, along with his brothers Earl (Rea) of Glace Bay and Russ (Joan) of Halifax. Eric graduated from Glace Bay's Central High School and from Acadia University, where he lettered in Rugby and Basketball and had great success in track and field. He then attended Dalhousie Law School (Class of 1956). It was during his days at Law School that Eric was introduced by brother Earl to Pat, a teacher and also a basketball player, who would become his bride the day after his graduation. During his articles, she supported him, and kept on doing so for the next 51 years. She taught him how to drive and how to be social at parties, with varying degrees of success. Eric was a member of the Nova Scotia and Ontario Bars and practiced law with Rutledge MacKeigan in Halifax before moving to Toronto where he became Regional Counsel for CP Rail. In 1978 Eric left CP and his office on Front Street in Toronto for an office on Main Street in Wolfville, NS where he worked until retirement in 2000. He traded his Central ''Y'' membership in for a ''gym pass'' at Acadia where he played basketball with the noontime crowd until well into his 60's. A long time member of the Rotary Club of Wolfville, Eric was a Paul Harris Fellow and a past- president of the Club. He left the Club, and Wolfville, in 2005 to relocate with Pat to Halifax. Eric was known to his friends and family as the quintessential arbiter of fairness. He would enjoy knowing that his children think of him as the ultimate reasonable man - as he would have it, the man on the Clapham Omnibus. (Although if one ever attributed that to him, he might give a brief dissertation on the test as set out in Hall v. Brooklands Auto-Racing Club.). He was a keen swimmer and his favourite place to be was the ''Bonavista Cottage'', the family vacation home at Melmerby Beach. Exiting the sometimes frigid waters of the Northumberland Strait, he always had the same refrain, ''the water is great!''. At 80, he was still improving his tennis game, reading the latest magazines on how to hit the topspin backhand that continued to elude him. A lifetime non-drinker and non-smoker, he was the self-proclaimed coffee connoisseur of the family, and his ongoing quest to brew the perfect cup was well-known to all his friends. His interests were wide and varied and included his painting and photography alongside his computer and web surfing. As a fan of Charlie Rose, he was obviously a night owl. An aficionado of the movies, Bob Newhart, and the Marx Brothers, Eric was always ready to laugh, and to make others laugh too. He was an avid cruciverbalist and enjoyed working away at the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle each week. A life long sports fan, he was delighted to watch his grandchildren play hockey, but didn't mind that the basketball games provided considerably warmer places to sit. Eric will be remembered for the funny stories about ''back in the day'' playing ''foot-n-a-half'' and chewing tar! With prosperity as a lawyer, he traded in the tar for the more acceptable black licorice. Eric has gone back to his personal ''Mira'' where he enjoyed his youthful summers in the 1930's and early 40's. Eric's legacy of fairness and laughter lives on in his children and grandchildren. He will be remembered at a memorial service at a later date. Eric would want all to remember the words of Groucho Marx, ''time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana!''. Memorial donations can be made to The Coady International Institute, at St. Francis Xavier University, (902 867-5264, www.coady.stfx.ca). Condolences can be sent to Pat and the Family at family@demonts.ca.