In loving memory of Dot (Dorothy) and Jim (James) Knight.
Dedicated by Paul and Angela Knight van Schaayk, James Knight, Treena Palangio and Addison Knight
Mom and Dad were always on the water. Whether it be on Lake Nipissing, Lake Temagami, Lake Kippawa, Georgian Bay or the Inter-Coastal Waterway from Baltimore, Maryland to Big Pine Key, Florida.
They always showed us how to navigate through any waters or anything that life could throw at you.
Always keep your head up and keep navigating forward.
For them, growing older was required but growing up was optional!!
Melanie was our family’s greatest Christmas gift ever, when she was born December 23, 1989. Although her birth was in Milton, ON, she celebrated her third birthday in North Bay, having relocated in April 1992.
Mel quickly fit in to this community attending Sacred Heart Elementary and joining the NBBA (North Bay Basketball Association) at the slightly younger than allowed age of 7. She was always trying to keep up with her older brother, Eli.
Melanie soon rose to award winning level with Coach Doyle Anthony’s Coach’s Choice plaque for her first season of play. He attributed this award to Mel’s constant high spirits and smile.
As a grade eight graduate in 2003, she clenched Athlete of the Year leading their b-ball team to the annual Championship among schools.
That’s when Coach Jim Davidson from St. Joe’s Scollard Hall recruited Melanie for its basketball summer camp and junior team. In grade 9 ,she took home “most valuable player” trophy for the juniors team. The following year, she skipped up to senior level and conquered MVP for a second consecutive year.
Melanie loved basketball. During the summer she spent a lot of time in the gym helping and volunteering with younger players. Not only an exceptional athlete, but also a very intelligent young woman, she was always on the Honour Roll. She had such a promising future until July 31, 2005. She was killed in a triple fatality car crash.
Since then, her school and family started the “Live Out Loud” basketball trophy and plaques for outstanding athletes with honour grades and her generally great attitude.
We, Melanie’s family , dedicate this leaf in her honour as another display of the everlasting love and pride we feel for her.
Randy LeClair, (1955-2008) beloved son of Carole and Gerry; brother to Debbie, Terry and Susan; and father to Darren, Krista and Lindsay; was a dedicated son, brother, father and friend.
Randy’s wonderful sense of humour, his great smile and good nature made him a joy to be around. He was devoted to his children and loved spending time with them. Camping, swimming and hiking were favorite activities they shared, allowing for so many special moments together. In the winter months, Randy would make a back-yard skating rink, often getting up at 4 in the morning to flood it so it would be ready for the kids to play on during the day. Time spent with his kids on the rink was a tremendous joy for him.
An outdoor enthusiast, Randy took great pleasure in fishing and hunting with his family and many friends. Memories of fishing trips with Randy are cherished by his family, as is the laughter they shared.
Randy was known for his work ethic and character. He was always ready to offer a hand to a person in need. As a teammate and coach, he touched many lives. He is missed by his former teammates from the Scollard Hall and Western University hockey teams, and by the many boys and girls he coached in the North Bay Minor Hockey league.
Randy, you are dearly loved. The LeClair family: Dad, Mom, Debbie, Terry and Susan.
Our mother, Carmela Zimbalatti, was living in North Bay long before she set foot in the Canadian Pacific Railway Station one icy, subzero January day in 1950. Her father, Santo had emigrated with other family members in 1907 so for the most part of her growing years she knew her future abode would be North Bay. Santo and his son, Giuseppe, expected to embrace both her and her mother but shortly before departing our grandmother fell ill and passed away.
She crossed the Atlantic aboard the Andrea Doria along with many other compatriots in pursuit of a new beginning in a new land. She was joined by her betrothed, Stefano better known as Steve Germano, a few months later. Carmela took care of her little family and acquainted herself with the customs of her new country. She had other Zimbalatti relatives, owners of Zimbalattti’s Store on Front Street who helped her along the way. Carmela and Steve were joined in marriage in 1951 at St. Rita’s Church on Douglas Street.
Steve braved the elements of this winter so different to what he was accustomed to and shovelled snow with his bare hands for 25 cents an hour. Carmela gave birth to Joe, the first New Year’s baby in 1952. She was very grateful for the many gifts they received from the merchants on Main Street for it helped them a great deal at the time. In 1953 their daughter, Tonie, was born. The house on 770 Front Street had been blessed. Steve decided to go to trade school in Windsor to become a bricklayer. He bought a red truck and started a business in construction. He remained in this field for many years and later on took care of his apartment building up to the latter years of his life. Carmela loved to cook and had crowds at her table at least once a week. She was a jovial soul who enjoyed people and company.
Carmela left us in 1990 while on a trip to Arizona and Steve died in North Bay in 2005. Steve and Carmela left a small Calabrian town in Italy to make North Bay their home. They were very proud and thankful for the opportunity and life that North Bay afforded them.
Sylvie was born in New Liskeard, Ontario, on March 14, 1957, the second of eight children for André and Simone (Loranger) Lemieux.
Before going to school, Sylvie would help milk the cows on the small dairy farm on Hillview Road (off Highway 65 in Hudson Township). Summers were spent helping her father bale hay and other farm work.
She attended École Secondaire Sainte-Marie in New Liskeard. After graduating she went directly to Teachers College and wound up teaching in a French school in Cambridge, Ontario. In the summer of 1979 she took a summer course at Laurentian University in Sudbury, where she met John Wipprecht. They were at the campus beach one day sunning, and she threw a handful of sand on him. That was July 1979, he proposed that October, and they were married the following July 12, 1980. They took up residence in Waterloo, Ontario. Mélanie arrived in November 1983 and two weeks later the family moved to North Bay, Ontario. Three years later Nathalie came, and in 1990, Christie. Sylvie stayed home to raise them. Sylvie was an excellent mother. She spoke to the girls in French, and John spoke to them in English, and they grew up to be bilingual. After the girls were old enough she went back to teaching Kindergarden at École St. Paul where she was adored by her young students. The saddest day of her life was the first day of school in September 2006 when she couldn’t go back.
A few months after Sylvie turned 49, she noticed a lump in her breast while showering. When the diagnosis of breast cancer was made, we learned it had already spread to her lymph system and her liver. Cancer specialists grade the severity of cancer on a scale of 1 to 4 and Sylvie was Stage 4 (the worst). She immediately had a mastectomy, and shortly after we made the first of many trips to the cancer centre in Sudbury. I can’t describe our emotions when, during our first visit, the oncologist informed us that it was not curable, and that the best that could be done was to keep it in check for 3, maybe 5 years. Despite some positive results now and then, the medical evidence was increasingly negative. The cancer was aggressive and adapted to the hormone therapy and she was switched to chemotherapy. Catheters were implanted to enable the delivery of the chemo drugs without damaging the veins in her arm. She had a lung biopsy and scans of every sort. The chemo had all the usual side effects which became more difficult to endure as the type and dosage increased in strength to combat the mutating cancer. Finally the oncologist advised further treatment was of no use. Within two months her liver failed, and her last x-ray showed the cancer may also have spread to her lungs. She died at home on August 14, 2009, a little over three years after she was first diagnosed.
You might be asking yourself if all the treatment and chemotherapy was worthwhile. The answer is YES. We had Sylvie for three more good years. Sylvie believed in living. During 2008, while she had a catheter implanted in her superior vena cava and was undergoing chemotherapy, she and John took a trip by train to Jasper, by car through the Rockies and ship to Victoria. Although her activities were restricted, and she spent a lot of time sleeping on the love seat at home, she had a good life with the support of her faith, family and friends. She learned how to paint. She got to see her daughters graduate, from university, college and high school.
Sylvie was a wonderful wife, mother and friend. She always had a positive attitude and inspired all who knew her. Sylvie should be a shining example to all of us when we are faced with adversity. She was always optimistic and always looked on the bright side of things.
Born in Mattawa, Ontario, in 1931, Marie Zita Storms was one of eleven children born to Malvina and Lorenzo Tremblay.
Zita married Jack Storms of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and they started their family along the beautiful Niagara River at Black Creek. The family grew to include five boys: Curtis, Bruce, Greg, Kyle and Troy.
She raised her family as she was raised, with love and passion. She was saddened by the passing of their son, Kyle, at the age of 22 but showed her strength for the rest of the family, although we all knew this was a very difficult time in her life.
Zita loved life; she was a wonderful mother, a Roman Catholic believer, a very caring person.
What people said about Zita was that she was a true friend, someone who was there through troubled times as well as good times. She left an impression on everyone she met.
She battled cancer for the last four years of her life with the same passion and love that she gave everyone. We all tried as hard as we could, this is what she wanted, but in the end it was her time to rise to the other side.
Zita is sadly missed by all of her family, but what she left us allows us to continue our journey with confidence and passion. We miss you, Mom.
Jack, Curtis, Bruce, Greg, Kyle, Troy, Cherielyn, and Jennifer
