Inspiring Stories

Grace & Aubrey’s Story ⁣⁣⁣
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This Remembrance Day, we want to honour our resident, Aubrey Moore and his late wife, Grace. ⁣⁣⁣
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Aubrey Moore says he always respected old people. He was brought up to respect his elders⁣ and taught to give back. He wasn’t rich, but he always found a way to give. And that is why he is so appreciative of the gifts the donors of Loch Lomond Villa Foundation contribute to improving⁣ the quality of life for the residents and families of Loch Lomond Villa. ⁣⁣⁣
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When Loch Lomond Villa was built in the early⁣ 1970’s, Aubrey and Grace used to drive by the Villa and remark– “That’s where the old people⁣ live”. “Now” he says, “I am one of them!”⁣⁣
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Aubrey met the love of his life, Grace, when they were 12 years old. Grace taught Aubrey how⁣ to play the guitar and they shared 70 happy years together. They married at age 22 and as a military family spent their lives living all around the world, but Canada was always home. Many years later, when the time came that the Moore family needed help with their day to day living, Loch Lomond Villa was their first choice for their new home.⁣ Grace was in the later stages of Alzheimer’s and admitted to Elm House at the Villa. Aubrey made⁣ his home just down the hall in the independent living apartments and later in supportive⁣ housing. Aubrey visited Grace every single day and spent hours playing the piano and singing to Grace, just like they did 75 years ago in their hometown. Aubrey eventually moved into Elm House as well and was able to be even closer to Grace when she began her end of life journey.⁣ Sadly, Grace passed away early 2019, and Aubrey misses her terribly every day.⁣⁣⁣
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On November 11th of 2019, Aubrey was honored to be selected as the Veteran Reviewing⁣ Officer at the annual Saint John Remembrance Day Ceremony.⁣ Even though Aubrey gets around these days in a motorized scooter, he stood tall and proud when saluting his fellow comrades during the service.⁣⁣
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It was one of the proudest days of his life. ⁣⁣

A Volunteer’s Point of View: Jim Landry’s Story

⁣⁣What is it like to volunteer? Will it be a chore? Is it hard? Can it make you anxious? Will you regret taking it on? Of course, it can and often will be all of these things… But theres more. It can be fun, it can provide you an opportunity for personal growth, and it can be extremely rewarding. ⁣⁣In my experience, the latter experiences always outweigh the former. To give some examples, the first little project that I took on at Loch Lomond Villa was to supervise a landscape crew of newcomers to Canada. We were tasked with pruning, staking, mulching and fertilizing some of the trees on the property. I’m not a project manager, nor do I work well with groups of people, let alone in an environment where language could be a barrier. I was worried about it, what if it rained? What if there was not enough work to keep do to keep them interested? The day came and went as days do, and I was left with a tremendous feeling of accomplishment. It was so much fun. Loch Lomond Villa made me feel so good about the effort I put in.⁣⁣On another occasion I was planting a memorial tree for veterans at the Village. We were a small group and it was a small task and I happily did most of the work with the invited participants watching on. It went well, and we discussed the meaning of the little tree and ceremoniously put it in is new home. When we were done, someone tapped my shoulder and told me to look at the window in the lobby that overlooked our ceremony. There was a veteran there, with his arm brought up in a salute. ⁣⁣Will volunteering give you a vivid memory that will last a lifetime and make you well up inside every time it surfaces? You bet. ⁣

Love is in the air on Dogwood House!!

There are big plans in store for two of our Dogwood House residents, Krista Fudge and David Boudreau! Engaged in 2020, the couple plans to marry here at the Village this summer if all goes as planned.

In front of the window, by his late mother’s picture, David proposed to Krista. “He brought out the pretty purple box. My favourite colour is purple.” “I took the box. I opened it up. The tears flowed, and then wouldn’t stop.” This does not come as a surprise to most knowing that it was love at first sight for the pair. “He saw me across the room and said to his brother, Paul Boudreau, ‘I’m going to marry that woman one day,'” Fudge said. “I just had the thought come in my head,” said Boudreau. “We both knew it was love at first sight.”

The couple says there are three things they feel strongly about in their relationship: faith, laughing together and family. David says, “I love her personality” and Krista says, “I call David my handsome hunk of a man”. The couple is already thinking about the future- they have begun plans to start a family by sponsoring a boy and a girl in Africa.

We can’t wait to celebrate this beautiful couple! Please join us in congratulating the pair on their big news!!