We the family of Dr. Stephen Balcom Gibbon are saddened to announce his passing on Saturday, June 13, 2026, at the Aberdeen Hospital in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. Stephen died peacefully, surrounded by family.
Stephen was deeply loved as a husband, father, father-in-law, grandfather, brother, uncle, brother-in-law and friend to so many.
Stephen was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on June 16, 1945, to Dr. (Arthur) Douglas Gibbon and his wife Audrey (Balcom). His childhood was a happy one, growing up in the South end of Saint John, New Brunswick, with family trips to New River Beach and St. Martins, summer cottage stays at Rothesay, Westfield, and Riverside, and summer camp at Camp Champlain in Sandy Cove, Nova Scotia. He demonstrated an early talent for music, and for mischief. His mother’s trials with "those Gibbon boys" were known throughout town. He learned to play several musical instruments as a child before settling on the guitar in his teenage years.
Stephen studied engineering at Dalhousie University in the early 1960s, but the lure of the guitar drew him away from his studies. He returned to attend Dalhousie Medical School in 1968, graduating in 1973.
Stephen married his dear friend and soulmate Candace Elizabeth Malcolm in Saint John on May 25, 1968. They shared a love of nature, animals, and making music, and a wicked, dry sense of humour. After he finished his medical internship they moved to New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, close to Candace’s family cottage at Melmerby Beach. There they had two sons, Angus and Matthew, and made life-long friends, music, and silly movies.
In 1980 the family moved to Halifax, where Stephen joined Family Practice Associates, the colleagues with whom he practiced family medicine until his retirement in 2016. He was trusted by his colleagues and loved by his patients, who knew him to be a careful and caring physician. He was adept at diagnosing ailments that might have stumped others, by virtue of his bright and creative mind, and, as he put it, simply listening to what his patients were telling him. He was the essence of an old school GP, caring for his patients from cradle to grave, and making himself available when they needed him. Among other special moments, he delivered the first baby born at the new Grace maternity hospital (now the IWK Health Centre) in 1992.
Stephen worked very hard for his patients, keeping long hours at the clinic along with hospital rounds and daily housecalls. Yet somehow he was ever present for his family. He never missed a practice or a game, or a music performance. He was a deeply caring and kind father, providing support mainly by his example, and occasionally his warm and thoughtful words. He generally preferred to listen rather than to speak. He demonstrated his deeply-held principles and sense of fairness by his actions rather than by talking.
Stephen adored his seven grandchildren and was always engaged with them and interested in all their doings. And he dearly loved the many cats and dogs who shared our family life over the years.
Some of his free time was taken up with seemingly endless improvement projects at the family’s treasured cottage on Ernst Island, in Mahone Bay. He somehow avoided the curse of the half-finished project, generally finishing what he started, then moving on to the next thing without fanfare. He was happiest when he was busy. In later years his beloved home at Melmerby Beach gave him even more scope for do-it-yourself endeavours. During the long Maritime winters, he occupied much of his time researching and cataloguing the genealogy of his and Candace’s families, and corresponding with distant relatives he discovered through various online genealogy sources.
Stephen also found the time to play jazz, rock and folk music with his bandmates in Second Profession, Five-day Forecast and MD5, typically playing gigs for free to support local charities. As well, he played bass in the pit band for numerous Nova Scotia musical theatre productions. If pressed, he would count Godspell, at the Chester Playhouse in the summer of 1995, as his favourite.
He sang and played guitar for the past 55 years with Candace and their close friends, most recently in the Tuesday Night Band, performing to their legion of ecstatic fans at all too rare public performances (three) across the years.
Stephen is survived by his wife, Candace; sons: Angus (partner Karen Nancarrow) and Matthew (Trish Gibbon); grandchildren: Cole, Alden, Chloe, Cashon (and their mother Tarah Catherine Gibbon), Rowan, Darby and Malcolm; sister, Charlotte; brother, Bill and his wife Caroline; brothers-in-law: James and John Malcolm and John’s partner Leslie Andersson; and his nieces and nephews: Debbie, Don, Steve, Susan and Jill. Stephen was predeceased by his brother, Jimmy and Jimmy’s wife Keltie.
We thank Dr. David Tilley, the neurology and oncology teams at the QEII Health Sciences Centre, and the wonderful Pictou County palliative care team, for their skilled and compassionate care.
A celebration of Stephen’s life will take place at the Little Harbour Community Centre on Saturday, August 22, 2026 from 1 to 4 p.m.
Arrangements are in the care of R.H. Porter Funeral Homes, New Glasgow, Nova Scotia.
In Stephen’s memory please consider making a donation to Hope for Wildlife, the Nova Scotia SPCA, Helping Hands at Trinity United Church in New Glasgow, or Pictou County Volunteer Ground Search & Rescue.
