Walter Ray "Wally" Selig
1941-2025
A graveside service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 25, 2026
in the Gaspereau Cemetery, Kings County.
A reception will follow in the Gaspereau Baptist Church Vestry.
Walter Ray "Wally" Selig – 83, of Kentville, formerly of New Minas, passed away in Evergreen Home for Special Care, Kentville, on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, just days short of his 84th birthday. Born November 2, 1941 in South Brookfield, Queens County, he was a son of the late Joshua Selig and Phylis Smith-Mansfield.
Wally was born a preemie, weighing only 2.5 pounds and not expected to live. For the first little while he stayed in a large tomato soup can lined in cotton baton in the warming oven of the wood stove. Wally first attended a one-room schoolhouse and then upon moving to Annapolis County he attended both West Kings and Central Kings Rural High School. Upon completing his education, Wally joined the Canadian Air Force and was posted at St. Jeans, Quebec and Cold Lake, Alberta. He began to miss Nova Scotia and didn’t enjoy the isolation so after three years he decided to buy out of the air force and return to his beloved Nova Scotia.
After returning to Nova Scotia, Wally met Dora, the love of his life, they were married in 1967. After a couple of years, they sold their home in Lower Sackville and moved to New Minas to start a family. After five years they adopted their first daughter, a bubbly dark-haired, brown-eyed girl they called Heather Michelle; two years later they welcomed Angela Lee and then two years later Janice Marie followed to complete their family.
Wally worked for over 30 plus years with Nova Scotia Power at different levels. Once retired he had the opportunity to go to the United States and supervise construction of the high voltage transformers at North little Rock, Blytheville, Conway and Hot Springs, all in Arkansas. Once those jobs finished, he joined Black and Veatch and worked in New Jersey and Washington until hurricane Katrina sent us home.
They returned to Nova Scotia in 2010. He enjoyed his stay, sightseeing and meeting wonderful friends and he enjoyed a lot of golf! His retirement dream was to go golfing every day, however that plan flew out the window when he had to have bilateral rotator cuff surgery. Wally’s hobbies included golfing, cribbage and other card games, and trying to get Pat Wigglesworth’s goat playing "pass the ace"; a lot of laughs and great fun was had by all. Wally was so kind and caring and he would lend a hand to anyone that needed it. He would give away all of his possessions if someone needed them. Wally will miss all his friends and family, his golf buddies, camping, driving a car and his many fur babies over the years, especially his present dog, Lexi.
Wally is survived by his loving wife of 58 years, Dora (Pick); three daughters, Heather (Jeff) Davison, Angela (Steve Davison) daughter Emma, and Janice (Darren Morgan); granddaughters, Taylor Davison and Brittney (Saeed Romo) and grandsons, Kyle (Emily Vaughan) and Bradley Thorpe; great grandchildren, Mariam and Faisal; brother, Larry (Libby) Mansfield; step-sister, Joanne and her extended family from the South Shore. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his brother, Stephen; sister, Beverley; stepfather, Carleton Mansfield Sr.; step-brother, Carl "Jr" Mansfield; his nephew, Tim Mansfield, taken way too young; brother-in-law, Dave Pick; in-laws, Marie and Lester Pick.
Special thanks go out to Susan Forsythe, Emily Vaughan and Donna Thomas for taking Wally out to Tim Hortons for coffee, ice cream trips and games of cribbage; Home Care and VON for his personal care and to Dr. Matthew Targett and the staff of Evergreen Home for Special Care.
As per Wally’s wishes, cremation has taken place, and there will be no visitation or funeral service. A graveside service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 25, 2026 in the Gaspereau Cemetery, Kings County. A reception will follow in the church vestry.
Family flowers only by request. Donations in memory may be made to the Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia, SPCA or Kentville Food Bank. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the White Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Kentville.