'It was the mark of the man that all respected him,' friend says of pillar of Saint John construction community

Saint John remembers construction icon Pat Darrah was instrumental in seeing many major projects through to completion. Mike Cameron reports.

SAINT JOHN, N.B. — There were lots of tributes on Friday for a man who was well-known throughout the east coast construction industry.

Pat Darrah died this week -- but not before seeing dozens of major projects completed during his career and changing the landscape of his hometown.

There's a common thread behind virtually every major project built in southern New Brunswick over the past half-century. Behind the scenes, there was the involvement of Pat Darrah of the Saint John Construction Association.

"He was a passionate, determined person with a high degree of integrity because he would not put up with fakeness," said Darrah's friend John Irving. "And it was the mark of the man that all respected him."

Darrah was a mentor for Stephen Beatteay, who says his former boss earned respect from all sides of the table.

"You had to be fair, everybody had to come away feeling like they won, and they had all achieved something positive for the community, or for their industry or for their business," he said.

Beatteay says Darrah's influence was felt on some big energy projects too, and not just in Saint John. A photo from the 1980s celebrates the deal to build the Belledune generating station.

In more recent years, Darrah took an interest in the education of young doctors, ore specifically, the lack of opportunity to study medicine in New Brunswick.

That led to the establishment of the Dalhousie medical school on the UNBSJ campus.

For his accomplishments, Darrah was inducted into the Order of Canada and he was recognized for being a champion for progressive labour standards and workplace health and safety awareness.

Some also remember him for a commitment to worthy causes both big and small.

"He got involved in the small things, and that's how he was able to do so well on the larger issues in the community because he came to have a grassroots understanding of what people in Saint John wanted," said Shirley McAlary, Saint John's deputy mayor.

"Pat had a bit of a unique touch where he could talk to bricklayers, and carpenters and labourers and he could also talk to management, and he had a good way of bringing people together," Irving said.

Pat Darrah died Thursday after a period of ill health. He was 83.