David Sturge Artiss
July 5, 1932 to June 3, 2026
Obituary
The funeral service for Dr. David Artiss will be livestreamed for those unable to attend.
To view the service please click HERE
Professor Dr. David Sturge Artiss passed away peacefully on June 3rd, 2026, after a brief stay at the Health Sciences Centre in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Born in Birmingham, England, in 1932 to loving Quaker parents, he was the youngest of four children. He was a happy child whose family delighted in his positivity and cheeky sense of humour.
He was educated at Friends’ School, Great Ayton, North Yorkshire, and at Bootham School, York. Following secondary school, he spent more than two years with the Friends Ambulance Unit International Service in Northern Germany working in post-war reconstruction. This experience laid the groundwork for his future academic career in German.
David spent two years teaching in the Department of English at the University of Tübingen, near the Black Forest. He took an Honours Degree in German Language and Literature at Durham University, followed by five years teaching German at Taunton’s School, Southampton. In 1965, he was appointed by Memorial University to teach German in the Department of German and Russian, where he met and married Phyllis Drysdale and they had their first child, Tom. Memorial sent David to complete his PhD on German poet and novelist, Theodor Storm, at Downing College, Cambridge, where his second child, Katie, was born. David travelled widely across the US, Canada, England, Germany, and South Africa, giving approximately 50 scholarly presentations on Theodor Storm, culminating in two books on Storm in 1975 and 2017. David played an active role in university affairs, both as Head of the Department of German and Russian and on various committees.
From an early age David was an outstanding athlete, breaking sprint records and winning both Junior and Senior Athletics Championships. He played field hockey for Durham University and soccer in an All England match.
Demonstrating the strong social justice values of his Quaker heritage, David played a major role in setting up the original Oxfam Store on Duckworth Street and was an active member of Amnesty International for many years. While teaching on secondment at Mount Allison University, New Brunswick, he worked closely with a Quaker group supporting Indigenous prisoners in Dorchester gaol.
David had a kind, gentle nature and an irrepressible sense of humour. He was noted for his fairness with university students and was remembered by many as an engaging professor who made learning German fun.
He met his South African wife, Grace (also a Professor of German) at a Storm Conference in Germany. After an old-fashioned and romantic long-distance courtship, they married in South Africa the following year and moved to St. John’s, where they remained devoted to each other for nearly 37 years.
David was fond of the dictum of George Fox, founder of the Quaker Society of Friends: “Walk the earth, answering that of God in every man and woman.”
He leaves behind his wife, Grace; his son, Tom and daughter-in-law, Dika; his daughter Katie and son-in-law, Mark; and his granddaughters Rhyanna, Sophie and Laura; as well as nieces, nephews, great-neices and great-nephews in England and Nova Scotia.
Funeral service will take place on Tuesday, June 16th, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. at St. David’s Presbyterian Church, Elizabeth Ave. Inurnment to follow in the Columbarium at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery.
Schedule
funeral
2:00pm, Tuesday June 16th
St. David's Presbyterian Church, Elizabeth Ave.
Inurnment to follow in the Columbarium at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery.
My condolences to Grace, Katie and Tom. I remember David as “the fun dad” he always seemed to have a song to sing and a story to tell. I’m glad to have known him
To the friends and family of David artists ; I am a lifelong member of st. David’s church who had only began to find a friend in David over the last 12 to 15 years or so. You see we discovered during a conversation after church one morning that we had a hobby in common……plastic model building. .I have been at the models since boyhood and have loved all gendres of the hobby from classic cars to boats and ships and of course allied aircraft of WW2. These planes he was very familiar as he could remember witnessing many of them in action when he was a young boy in the UK during the dark days of that conflict. In late 2019 he passed on most of his collection of built models and a few unbuilt kits when he downsized and moved into Elizabeth towers. I’m very grateful for that and am very sorry to here of his loss. I really enjoyed restoring the models that needed a bit of TLC and will fondly remember him as I continue to persue the hobby….essspeciallly the 1/48 scale pby 5a canso flying boat.
I’m very sorry to learn of your father’s death, Tom. May he rest in peace. You’re in my thoughts at this sad time.
Liewe Tannie Grace, daar is regtig nie woorde wat groot genoeg is vir so n verlies nie. Ek is so jammer oor Oom David se heengaan. Ek dink vandag baie aan Tannie en my hart gaan uit na Tannie. Ek bid dat God vir Tannie krag, troos en vrede sal gee in hierdie baie moeilike tyd. Mag Hy Tannie styf vashou wanneer die dae swaar voel, en mag die mooi herinneringe aan Oom David vir altyd ʼn spesiale plek in Tannie se hart hê. Tannie is in ons gedagtes en gebede. Liefde Ivanka
Grace and family – so sorry for your loss. Sterkte. daar.
To Grace and the Artiss family
So sorry to hear about David. A long time ago my older sister knew David when she was involved in Oxfam. I was lucky to meet David and Grace when I moved into their old apartment on Reeves Place owned by the wonderful Ruth Burrage.
Later we were neighbours on the second floor of Elizabeth Towers. All his activities, his many interests and talents – he was a modern kind Renaissance man. What delightful chats we had
I know recent times have been hard on all but he was loved and cared for.
Condolences to all. Please take care
I was saden to hear the passing of my mentor and dear friend , David.
You are one in a zillion. I was fourtnate to have met you. .
Coming from a third world, not having many friends, I joined the Oxfam craftshop on Duckwiorth street as a volunteer. There I met Phyllis,, John and Rosemsry Williams. .. They were regular customers at the Curry house. When the Curry House was burnt down, David and Phyllis and John and Rosemary has a head colkection and Curry House was reborn on Water street . These people are born to help the humanity.
I was walking down with David on Water Street; suddenly a few unemployed youngsters shouted the ” PAKI” David immediately run behind hem and chased them away. . What a blessing soul.
I will amiss you David.
Rod Singarayer
To Grace
My sincere condolences to you, David’s children and his extended family . He was the consummate gentleman over the > 25 years that I have known him . Always pleasant and upbeat. Your care for him over the past 5-6 years as he slowly became increasingly frail was extremely commendable. He was happy and very contented. A life well lived that his students can now carry on his legacy of educational and academic work . Take care Ean Parsons
Katie, Tom and Grace,
So sorry for your loss. He was a wonderful person and I was privileged to know him.
I was a student of David’s at Memorial and, when I taught German, he became a mentor and a friend.
When David and Phyllis invited Monika Niedermann (whom they had met in Cambridge) to join them as their au pair in St. John’s, I spent time at the family home as a friend of Monika’s and the family.
When Monika returned to Switzerland and I had finished my teaching appointment at Grenfell Campus, Susan Jackson always kept me up to date on the Artiss family. After Susan passed, I had always meant to be in touch with David directly and as recent as October 2025 when I visited with Monika in Switzerland, we reminisced about David and family. Alas we didn’t get in touch.
May he rest in peace.
Beverley Bennett Kirby
Although I was fortunate to share only a small part of David’s long and extraordinary life, it has been a profound honour to walk alongside him during the past ten years as his son-in-law.
David embodied a rare combination of humility, wisdom, kindness, and quiet strength. He never sought recognition for his remarkable achievements, yet his character spoke far more loudly than any list of accomplishments ever could. I learned much from his calm presence, thoughtful nature, and unwavering respect for others.
His life was one of service, scholarship, integrity, and compassion, but above all, he was a genuinely good man. I feel privileged to have known him and to have witnessed firsthand the love and devotion he shared with his family.
David leaves a legacy not only through his academic contributions and community service, but through the countless lives he touched with his gentleness, humour, and grace.
He will be deeply missed and fondly remembered.
With gratitude and respect,
Mark D
Grace
Condolences to you and to all of David’s family upon his passing. We enjoyed our annual Christmas visits with you both, and we admired his many achievements. His positive attitude and cheerful disposition were always in evidence. May he rest in peace after a life so well lived.
Heidi and Dick Janes
Tom and Katie, we send heartfelt condolences at the loss first of your mother and now your father.. Among the many fond memories we have of David was his role of foreman overseeing the renovation of a derelict building on Duckworth St. into a beautiful ground floor Third World crafts shop, lined with antique barn boards he had scrounged somewhere, and second floor offices for the Oxfam Committee, of which he was a stalwart member. We were greatly inspired by his kindness, wisdom and commitment to justice. May he rest in peace.
David was such a kind and gentle soul. Always positive and a concern for everyone.
God s speed David 🙏