Stories

Lefebvre, Clarence & Geraldine #325 *

Clarence Lefebvre, our Dad, was born in North Bay in 1925, the first year that North Bay was deemed a city.  Geraldine McParland, our Mom, was born in the small town of Mattawa, 40 miles east of North Bay also in 1925.  Clarence, known as Spike early on in his life, was raised in North Bay while Geraldine, known as Geri, moved to North Bay as a young girl.  Dad joined the army at the age of 17 and was shipped overseas in 1945, arriving in Europe just as the European phase of the war was ending.  While Dad spent time in the army Mom contributed to the war effort in her own way as a “Farmerette” and worked in Ottawa for the government.

When Dad returned from the war he was introduced to Mom by his sister Yvonne.  After an intense courtship, the two were married on August 1, 1949.  The marriage was blessed with five children, three girls and two boys and ultimately produced ten grandchildren.

After a number of jobs Dad joined the North Bay Police department in 1956 and a 30 year law enforcement career culminated in his retirement from the force with the rank of Inspector.  Mom worked at M&M Tobacco, ran a boarding house out of her home and ended her working life by spending 17 years at Shoppers Drug Mart.

Mom and Dad were very devoted to their church, the Pro Cathedral of the Assumption, and believed in hard work while embracing life with a great sense of humour.  Both were well known for their love of entertaining family and friends and Dad is famous for dancing while wearing any manner of outrageous hats.  Above all else they cherished family time and regularly coordinated activities that brought together their children and grandchildren.  Neither was ever able to resist a loud and boisterous game of “pass the ace” and both loved the company of their close friends and acquaintances.

In their later years Mom and Dad enjoyed going to the waterfront to sit in the car or on a bench to enjoy an ice cream cone, meet with friends and enjoy the view, particularly the spectacular sunsets.

In honour of Dad’s 85th birthday on December 29, 2010 we are happy to present him with this metal leaf, number 325, engraved with his and Mom’s names.  The number 325 is the address number of the first home that they purchased together and was the first and foremost home to our family.

Burrows, Harvey #22 *

Mr. Harvey Burrows – honoured by Mr. Jack Burrows

Harvey Burrows was my father.  He and my mother Sadie had two children, my sister Beth (Sherman) and myself.  He was born in North Bay in 1888 and moved to Pakenham with his family until he returned to North Bay when he was 14 years old.

My grandfather was involved in contracting here in North Bay and in the winter time he sent several of his sons with teams of horses to work in logging camps in the north.  One of the camps was at Frederick House Lake near Timmins.  My father often talked about the hardships they endured during those long winters.

When the family grew older, my grandfather set some of the boys up in businesses here in North Bay.  In 1915, my father started up a food market at 878 Cassells Street.  Eventually he added livestock feeds along with agricultural products, and became a distributor for Purity Flour Mills. He successfully ran the business until 1958 when he retired and I took it over.

In the 1940’s he sold horses to lumber camps and at one time had a dealership for Hupmobile cars.

My father was a great booster of the community.  He was a charter member of the North Bay Lions Club and supported many charitable causes in the city.

He loved to curl and was a great sports fan.

I respected his judgement, his advice and his philosophy of living.  I’ll always remember him saying “There’s always a place in business for an honest man”.

He was an honest man and he had many friends.  I can recall many bits of advice he gave me that after some 45 years still hold true today.

He was a pioneer here in our city and along with others made our city the special place it is today.  That is why on behalf of my family I am honouring my father with this memoriam.

Shields, Gordon #31 *

Gordon Shields, honoured by Jill, Christine, Steven, Charlie, Nathan, Brenda and Susan.

Gordon Shields was born in South Porcupine, Ontario on September 21, 1941 and passed away in North Bay on May 7, 2003.  To have known Gord was a very special privilege that extended not only to his immediate family and friends but also to his co-workers.

Gord was a man of strong principles and values, and he was supportive and helpful to the people in his life.  He took great pride in his family’s accomplishments, struggles and sometimes losses.  His cup was always “half full”. He loved “family times”, whether they be a small family dinner with his sisters and their husbands or a large gathering of family and friends.  He will be remembered for the silent “Shields” laughter that brought tears to his eyes, and to the eyes of his sisters, when some long ago family memory was recalled.  Gord offered support, words of comfort, and a helping hand when needed, without hesitation.

Gord was both formally educated, and self educated.    He graduated from York University with a BA in Sociology, and obtained a Certificate in Administration for Homes for the Aged from McMaster University. He was a lifelong learner and an avid reader.   He chose to work in Gerontology and   for many years worked as an Administrator in Homes for the Aged.  The focus of his work was always to provide the best quality of life for the aging people living in the Home.

He valued and supported the education of both of his children.   He taught them to always be consistent with expectations and to communicate them clearly.  He believed that there was always more than one way to solve a problem,   and that the seemingly complex could always be simplified.  He believed in being there for his family and in enjoying his time with them.  Family was more important than work.   He believed in not judging people – everyone had something good in them.  He taught his children to take responsibility for their actions, and that telling the truth was always more simple than perpetuating a lie.  He taught by example to be a bit mischievous once in a while,   and to laugh with your children.  He believed it was important to get to know your kid’s friends, but always remain a parent.  Every day he showed that it is important to love your spouse as you are lucky to have someone to love you. Gord worked to create lasting memories that his family will carry with them for the rest of their lives.

Thank you for the time that you spent with us and the gifts that you left behind.

You are missed by all who loved you.

Jill, Christine, Steven, Charlie, Nathan, Brenda and Susan.