deGarthe and his wife were seasoned travellers, spending winters in the Caribbean and Florida, and visiting Spain, Portugal, Italy, Africa, and the Galapagos Islands among other places. In 1975, 35 years after he first embarked for Brazil, he finally reached Rio de Janeiro where the sight of the statue of Christ the Redeemer inspired him to create his own monument in stone in Peggy's Cove. Health problems in the last years of his life slowed deGarthe's progress on the Fishermen's Monument. He suffered a heart attack in 1979 and was diagnosed with cancer in 1982. He died in a Toronto hospital on February 13, 1983. His funeral was held at Peggy's Cove and his ashes interred inside the Fishermen's Monument. References External links William E. deGarthe art works William E. deGarthe Artnet site Visit DeGarthe Gallery and Museum North Shore Historic Art 1907 births 1983 deaths 20th-century Canadian painters Canadian male painters 20th-century Finnish painters 20th-century Canadian male artists Alumni of the Académie de la Grande Chaumière Artists from Helsinki Artists from Nova Scotia Canadian marine artists Canadian sculptors Canadian male sculptors Finnish emigrants to Canada Landscape artists Marine artists Mount Allison University alumni People from the Halifax Regional Municipality Finnish male painters 20th-century Finnish male artists