More Local Roots
I am a lifelong resident of Waterloo Region.
It's my home and probably always will be.
This is my lifelong Church, St. Mary's in downtown Kitchener. I was baptized here and I've watched a dozen priests come and go as pastors. The main school board council chamber is right behind it.
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I have also volunteered nearly continuously here for over 30 years in a host of capacities including altar server, usher, reader and with the St. Vincent De Paul Sandwich Project, the predecessor of today's Tiny Home Takeout.
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My family also has over 50 years of faithful public service in Waterloo Region:
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-My father (now retired) worked for the City of Kitchener for 30 years, including as head of the Planning Department.
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-My mother was an Evening nursing supervisor at Grand River (then K-W) Hospital and then a VON travelling community nurse who gave selflessly helping people in their homes in Wellesley, Elmira and beyond.
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I honoured her, in turn, by faithfully serving as her bedside caregiver for a decade before she passed away from very serious dementia last year. It was a very long and very difficult period in my life, but also a very beautiful one where I grew greatly in faith, patience and love.
“When great causes are on the move in the world, stirring all men's souls, drawing them from their firesides, casting aside comfort… we learn that we are spirits, not animals, and that something is going on in space and time, and beyond space and time, which, whether we like it or not, spells duty”
— Winston Churchill