UPEI extends condolences upon the passing of honorary degree recipient Catherine Hennessey
The University of Prince Edward Island extends condolences to the family and friends of Catherine Hennessey (UPEI LLD ’87), well-known PEI heritage activist, who passed away on March 3, 2026, at the age of 92.
Born and raised in Charlottetown, Hennessey was a passionate trailblazer in the preservation of heritage and history on PEI. In 1970, she founded the PEI Heritage Foundation, now the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation, and served as executive director until 1980. Subsequently, she served on Charlottetown’s heritage review committee and its City Council.
Hennessey received numerous accolades for her work to preserve the province’s heritage. In 2011, the City of Charlottetown created the Catherine G. Hennessey Heritage Award in her honour. During its annual heritage awards ceremony, the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation presents the Catherine Hennessey Heritage Activism Awards, one to a member of the public age 26 and older, and one to a young adult 25 and younger, who have demonstrated impactful community activism around heritage in tangible projects including digital initiatives.
In 2001, she was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada, and in 2017, she was named to the Order of PEI. In 1988, she received the Lieutenant Government’s medal from Heritage Canada.
In 1987, she was awarded an honorary degree from UPEI. The citation reads in part:
“While it is worth noting among Mrs. Hennessey’s accomplishments that she is a member of several provincial and national organizations that deal particularly with Canadian history, Canadian architecture, Canadian heritage, it is, nevertheless, for her work in Island heritage that she will be best remembered.
“Together with a few associates some 15 years ago, Cathy Hennessey founded the Prince Edward Island Heritage Foundation and began a long pioneering process of bringing Islanders to the realization that ‘old’ is neither a synonym for ‘obsolete’ and ‘useless’ on the one hand, nor for ‘antique’ and ‘heirloom’ on the other, that our heritage is our culture, our culture our heritage, and that the past has much in it worth preserving. It has been said, with truth, that Mrs. Hennessey ‘pioneered a heritage awareness across the Island.’
“Some people are born teachers, Mr. Chancellor. They have enormous energy, eyes that see and appreciate, an innate ability to transfer the appreciation and love that they feel to their listeners. Mrs. Hennessey is like that: her enthusiasm is infectious, her energy boundless, her criticism always tinged with good humour.”
A video recording of Hennessey receiving her honorary degree may be viewed here. A celebration of her life will be held at a later date.
