Kindness. Always Kindness.

My dad grew up poorer than a church mouse in rural Newfoundland – in fact, as my dad jokingly told it, the mice felt too bad for them to take their crumbs.

His father passed away when my dad was two, leaving his mother to raise him and his four siblings alone. Despite his meager beginnings, my dad managed to get a high school education – quite a feat for his time and circumstance. He worked across a myriad of fields in his young life, first as an educator in a neighbouring town, then he moved into construction – first as a labourer and then into management. When my sister was born, he told my mom to tell his little girl that her dad had a white hat now; that meant he had been promoted to site supervisor. A very proud moment on all fronts.

Perhaps the only the only thing stronger than my dad’s work ethic was his thirst for knowledge. Truly, I’ve never known another person to read the dictionary for fun. He read every book he could get his hands on – Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was a favourite.

For most of my life my dad worked as a social worker with the Government of Newfoundland, but he never had just one job. He also sold insurance and helped my mom run their little flower shop, and eventually delved into his true passion as a writer for our local newspaper, The Coaster.

Whether through example or genetics, this is the man who gave me my unrivaled work ethic (and my sense of humour). But most importantly, he taught me how to treat people – hint: with kindness, always kindness. It didn’t matter what you looked like, how much or how little you had. Whether you lived in a grand home or barely had sheets of plywood keeping the rain off your head; you were valued and what you had to say mattered.

Shortly after retirement, my dad's mind started to betray him as Alzheimer’s began to take hold. His body soon followed, and on Sunday May 10, 2020, at 81 years of age, he passed peacefully away in his sleep.

Someone commented since my dad’s passing that they were always a little smarter after a conversation with my dad and I thought, what a legacy for the little boy from Newfoundland who grew up without money or material things, but clearly with a wealth of character and determination.