Nova Scotia Nature Trust says the sale proceeds of a home filled with hand-carved woodwork in Shelburne County have been gifted to the charity.
In a surprise to the charity, a recently deceased Port L’Hebert resident, Victor “Ray” Titterington, left the entire estate to Nature Trust in his will.
‘We are forever grateful for Ray’s generosity … We are doing everything we can as a charity to fulfill Ray’s wish to see his life’s work put towards land conservation,” Nature Trust said in a news release.
Titterington was born in England in 1928. His family moved to Ontario when he was one year old.
According to a Nature Trust blog post, Titterington loved outdoor activities and travelling. When he was 36, he quit his job as a tool and die maker and followed an “entrepreneurial life.”
The blog post says “he liked to say, happily ‘retired’ from working in someone else’s employ.”
Titterington moved to Nova Scotia 25 years ago and began building the Port L’Hebert home.
His estate includes a seven-acre oceanfront property. The house is listed as a one-bedroom, one-bathroom home, but also includes a large solarium and full woodworking shop.
The solarium is filled with cacti that Titterington cared for in the last few decades of his life, as well as hand-made wooden horses hanging from a carousel-style ceiling.
“He crafted wooden floors and doors piece-by-piece to create an artistic marquetry pattern, embellished bookshelves with fanciful decorative carved horses galloping across the top, and filled an atrium with a wide range of cacti – some of which grew so huge they touched the glass-topped ceiling,” said the Nature Trust blog post.
According to a release, the estate has been listed with a Shelburne-native agent for $295,000. The listing offers a virtual tour of the home.
Nature Trust said all proceeds are going to the charity, and it will start reviewing offers on Oct. 9.
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