Donald Edward Curren, LL.B. '50, LL.D. (Hon), QC, CM

Donald Edward Curren was born in Bedford and received his early education there and at Bloomfield High School, Halifax.

He joined the RCAF in 1941 and qualified as a pilot.  When his plane crashed en route to North Africa in 1943, his severe injuries resulted in his becoming a paraplegic.  He graduated with his LLB from Dalhousie in 1950, and was admitted to the Nova Scotia Bar in 1951.

From 1947 to 1951, he served as the local representative of the Canadian Paraplegic Association in the Atlantic region, largely on a volunteer basis.  He joined the association full-time in 1951, becoming the first employee east of Montreal and served as executive director for over 32 years, retiring early in 1984.

Donald Curren is a founding member of the Atlantic Wheelchair Sports Club in 1967 and of the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association in the same year.  As a member of the Canadian wheelchair sports team, he took part in the Stoke Mandeville International Games in 1971 and 1972 and was named as a member of the team to represent Canada in the British Commonwealth Paraplegic Games in New Zealand in 1974.  He served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Pan-American Games, held in Halifax in 1982, and as a member of the board of directors for the World Wheelchair Basketball Championships (the gold Cup) in 1983.

In 1974, Donald Curren was appointed a Queen’s Counsel, one of the few non-practising members of the Bar to be so honoured.

He was a founding and long-time member of the Nova Scotia Rehabilitation Council, which created the Nova Scotia Rehabilitation Centre, Nova Scotia Brace and Appliance Centre (now the Orthotic Centre) and the Hearing and Speech Clinic.  He was also a charter member and is a past-president of Halifax Toastmasters Club, a member of Bedford branch no. 95, Royal Canadian Legion, a member of the Rotary Club of Canada, and a member of the board of directors of Camp Hill Medical Centre.

For 32 years, he was a member of the national board of directors of the Canadian Paraplegic Association and was a vice-president of Barrier Free Transit Incorporated, which labored to obtain transportation service for the physically disabled, and later was chairman of the Metro Halifax Transit advisory committee on transportation for the handicapped, which has initiated the Access-a-Bus service for handicapped metro Halifax transit users.

In 1980, he was named a member of the Order of Canada and the following year he received an honourary degree from Saint Mary’s University.  He received an honourary degree from Dalhousie University in 1984.

Donald Curren is married and lives in Halifax.  He and his wife have two sons.

Donald Curren exemplifies the Weldon spirit of unselfish public service for which this award is given.  All those who have had the advantage of attending Dalhousie Law School are inspired by his example.