Ex-Mahone Bay mayor dies in Bahamas | The Chronicle Herald – TheChronicleHerald.ca

Former Mahone Bay mayor Joe Feeney longed for a retirement full of travel with his wife Barbara, and the two planned to be in Portugal next January.

But Friday, Feeney, 71, suddenly passed away after swimming near a catamaran during a trip to the Bahamas.

The six-term mayor and former school educator had chosen not to re-offer in October, and his seat eventually went to friend and then-deputy mayor David Devenne, who was shocked by Feeneys death.

We still just arent sure what happened. He and his wife went to the Bahamas in mid-February, and he got back on the boat after swimming, he said.

I was told he sat down in the cockpit and he may have had a heart attack.

Mayor Devenne got a call from the deputy mayor on Friday, who had heard the news from one of Feeneys sons.

I was just really taken aback by all this. He knew so many people, and everyone who knew him loved him, he said.

Feeney lived in Mahone Bay in excess of 35 years.

He made so many friends, and he was active at St. Norberts Roman Catholic Church in Lunenburg. He was also part of the boating community too, Devenne said.

He worked in the school system in Halifax and in the South Shore, and he was so active with the school board, Mount Saint Vincent University and Acadia University. He was always assisting students.

Devenne had breakfast in late January with Feeney and his wife.

They were so excited to travel. I talked to them all about Portugal, and he said he wanted to leave Mahone Bay for winters. He said, Come January 2018, Ill be in Portgual

Feeneys son Tim is currently in the Bahamas with his mother, and Joseph Feeney Jr. is a councillor in Mahone Bay.

The son was acclaimed in October. Feeney Sr. had great things to say about his son around election time.

Hes got good ideas and is a pretty smart kid, he said, laughing, in a previous Herald interview.

It's good to have some youth in there, and weve been fortunate to have female members making up a third of our council.

Devenne remembers the years Feeney was mayor with fondness.

Joe was a character, and he had so much presence. He was always close to town hall, and would always talk, offer his opinions, and take action if he felt he could, he said.

He will be remembered as a man of great strength, who enjoyed his friends, the Boston Red Sox and the New England Patriots.

The whole town is having a difficult time. He was a wonderful man, said Devenne.

An autopsy is expected to be done this week, and funeral arrangements have yet to be determined.

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Ex-Mahone Bay mayor dies in Bahamas | The Chronicle Herald - TheChronicleHerald.ca