|
Some parents tell their kids to turn down the loud music or the neighbours might complain or possibly contact police.
But plying loud music helped Jerry Chartrand find his life partner Henrietta.
Jerry, who was 77 when he died on Sept. 8, was the fifth child of Emil and Mary Chartrand. Sadly, he lost both parents when he was only six.
Advertisement
Jerry lived with family until he moved to Winnipeg to begin working when he was 15. One thing he loved doing was picking up his guitar and singing. Loudly.
Back in 1965, Jerry had been playing tunes all day long when his neighbour finally had enough and knocked on his door.
Three years later, the pair got married.
Through the years they raised three children and were together for 55 years.
Jerry was also active in his community. He became sports director at Luxton Community Centre where he coached both baseball and hockey. He not only made sure the ice was ready to play hockey but also created another area where younger kids could skate without having to worry about being hit by a flying puck.
He also spent his summers camping, first at St. Ambroise Provincial Park and then Miami Beach, where, true to form, he also spent the nights playing the guitar and singing loudly.
Jerry finally bought land in St. Laurent in 2000 so he could build a cottage on Lake Manitoba. Eleven years later, when there were record floods on that lake, he was fighting to save his property until the Canadian Red Cross came and took him away to safety.
Besides his wife and three children, Jerry is survived by nine grandchildren who he, as his family said, “(filled) their bellies with excess sugar, their hearts with love, and their hands with power tools”.
Read more about Jerry.
How They Lived
Betty Greeley was born and raised in Dundee, Scotland but it was here she met and married a man from home.
Betty, who was 90 when she died on Sept. 7, was in her 20s when she came to Winnipeg to begin working at Western Savings and Loan.
She met Charles, who it turned out was also from Dundee, and were together for 61 years.
Her daughter plans to follow their wishes and will bring her mom and dad back home to Scotland.
Read more about Betty.
Roger Young didn’t let leaving high school in Grade 10 stop him.
Roger, who died on June 18 at 81, went to work as the front desk manager at the Fort Garry Hotel before joining Sears and working in Los Angeles.
He returned to Winnipeg with his high school diploma and later graduated from the University of Manitoba with a BA in political science and was on the dean’s honour list.
From there, Roger joined Opportunities for Youth, a federally funded government youth program, and received a federal award for creating a nationwide liability insurance program.
He lived in the Fort Rouge area where he became president of the Lord Roberts Childcare Association. He was the local city councillor from 1989 to 1992, where he was integral in getting the Red River side of Churchill Drive designated as permanent park space.
Read more about Roger.
Nancy Wheatley was one of only three women to graduate from Engineering at the University of Toronto in 1973.
Nancy, who was 72 when she died on Sept. 2, took on leadership roles at both General Electric and Levi’s.
Later, while raising three boys, she was elected as a Pembina Trails school trustee and served in that role for 16 years.
Nancy went back to school, graduated with a Master of Education, and continued her career as Dean of Construction and Engineering Technologies at Red River College.
Read more about Nancy.
Doug Overton grew up in Winnipeg, but it was in another city he helped a team win a Stanley Cup.
Doug, who died on Sept. 13 at 78, married and raised his family here.
But Doug worked as a professional scout in the NHL and, while in Dallas in the early 1990s he scored great success with Stars.
The team still attributes Doug’s scouting prowess, helping them draft some of their best players both past and present, with being one of the key reasons they won the Stanley Cup in 1999. His name is etched on hockey’s holy grail.
Read more about Doug.
Sam Wilder was a lawyer who helped the community.
Sam, who died on Sept. 6 at 83, was one of the named partners at the Wilder Wilder Langtry law firm. He earned his law degree in 1965, practiced with his brother, Joe, for 56 years, and was honoured as a King’s Counsel.
But he was also well-respected for his contributions to both the Jewish and broader community.
Read more about Sam.
A Life’s Story
Everyone hopes to leave a legacy. For Norm Van Elslander, his legacy was pizza.
But not just any pizza. His pizza was incomparable.
That’s because Norm, who died on Feb. 3, created one of the province’s most recognizable restaurant chains: Gondola Pizza. He even came up with the restaurant’s catchphrase “incomparable.”
Norm and Peggy Van Elslander in Hawaii. (Supplied)
Norm also owned a Chicken Delight franchise as well as creating another restaurant, Mr. Mustard, a hotdog venue, as well as the Medicine Rock Café in St. Francis Xavier.
“His energy was contagious, and it encouraged us all,” his son Todd said.
To read more about Norm’s life, go here.
Until next time, I hope you continue to write your own life’s story.
|
