Mr. Edwin Alexander Stewart

Edwin Alexander Stewart and his twin brother, Erwin Claude, were born on December 24, 1929 to James Stewart and Mary Ethel Hawn, of Morewood. He was one of a family of 12 children, Myrtle, Audrey, Margaret, Alva, William, Bertha, George, Lillian, Erwin, Edwin (Dad), Arnold , and Mervin. Unfortunately, tragedy struck when Edwin was just 18 months old. His twin brother, Erwin, was accidentally drowned in a watering tank on the family farm. Dad has only the one picture of him and his twin, sitting in a large stuffed chair on the farm.

Dad grew up on a farm, and the stories he told were of a very hard working beginning. The following is an excerpt he wrote in 1980 for a family memoir put together by Irene Stewart. It is the only story of his life, written by him, that we have. "School days back then were a lot less convenient for children than they are now. In winter we trudged on foot through deep snow as often the roads weren't open. Schools were heated by wood stoves and water was carried in by pails. As for the out-houses (especially in wintertime) no modern child would quite believe them. Our days didn't end work-wise when school was dismissed, as being a farm boy there were always endless jobs for me and my brothers to do, such as milking by hand, pitching hay and dozens of everyday tasks which were essential to farm life. Soon school days ended and I left home to fend for myself. Western excursions took my fancy and I headed West for three consecutive years. On returning to Cornwall I was firstly employed by Ontario Hydro, then Howard Smith Paper Mills, and later Cornwall Fire Dept. I met and married my wife Bethel, and in the following years we had 6 children... In summing up this account of my life, I only hope my children and grandchildren have happier memories and less hardships than I endured in my growing up years."

Dad did not talk a lot about his early days on the farm growing up, we knew it was hard, and that he had left for out west at a young age, but in the last few months of his life, Dad shared more and more of his early days as we went on drives throughout the countryside and he reminisced. I would like to share a few of those stories that he told me:

During the last few visits I made to visit Dad before he died, he would always want to go for a drive in the country and talk about his early life.

We drove by many of his old familiar places, ie.. the house Grandma and Grandpa lived in in Dunbar at the end, the home farm where Mervin fell off the silo and broke his feet, the farm down the road from the home farm that he and George farmed together before he left to go out west.

He told me a story about the first job he had when he moved off the home farm. It was driving a truck for a local driver. He would drive around the countryside and pick up cattle that were going to market. He told me about one pickup at a farm of several big bulls. They had to be tied up separately in the front of the trailer so they wouldn't fight. Dad had to go in the trailer and tie them up. The guy then told him they were to be delivered to the Montreal stockyards. Dad said he had never been there before and didn't know how to get there and had never driven in downtown Montreal! The guy gave him some directions written on a scrap of paper and sent him off. Dad drove all the way there alone, found the place and unloaded the cattle and bulls, with no problem! He sounded pretty proud of himself for doing that!

He showed me a farm that he said he and George, his brother managed when he was young. He said it was very hard work, and the house was so cold in the winter. He eventually had enough of that job and decided to go out West. He asked George to go with him, but George did not want to, so Dad went anyway.

Another time he was talking about the Fire college in Gravenhurst and how lucky he was to get the fire job, and how he would never have gotten it without Archie Lavigne putting in a word for him, because he did not have enough education. He said he studied hard and it was difficult, because he only had Grade 8, but he passed the exams.

He was also so proud of being made Lieutenant in the fire department, but did not like being responsible for the lives of the men under him, when the city would not give him enough staff to do the job properly, he said. That is why he gave up the Lieutenant and went back to being a regular fireman. HIs job at the Firehall was so much a part of his life, and identity, it was very touching to see the number of young firemen, and retired members, who attended the visitation and funeral. They are truly connected by a strong bond, as with any profession where your life could be on the line every day when you go to work.

I am sure my siblings also remember the many times Dad came home when we were growing up and recounted some of the awful fires he had attended . He was especially hard hit by the ones where he had to carry bodies out of the burning buildings, or children. I think he was haunted by some of those memories.

Dad met the love of his life, Bethel Hilda MacLean, when he was working in Cornwall after returning from the west. They were married in St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, Martintown, Ontario on June 9, 1956. They set up a home together on Churchill Street in Cornwall, Ontario and started their family of 6 children. Eldon Randall, born December 15, 1956, Brenda Lee, born December 17, 1957, Wanda Lyn, born February 1, 1959, Constance Ann, born December 12, 1960, Gwendolyn Grace, born December 20, 1961, and Ian Grant, born November 28, 1963.

Dad was hired on to the Cornwall Fire Department on April 3, 1957. Over the next few years they moved from Churchill Street to a large house on Toll Gate Road, and then to 109 Mercier Avenue, in Eamer's Corners in the north end of Cornwall. Mom was always a "stay-at-home mom", and Dad worked several jobs in addition to the Fire Department, in order to keep all of us fed and clothed. He loved to repair and fix things, and although he only had a Grade 8 education, he could figure out how machines worked and had a natural aptitude for fixing them. He spent many hours in the garage workshop at the house on Mercier Avenue fixing vacuum cleaners for their neighbour, and best friends, George and Kay Millar.

Although Dad worked hard to make enough money to raise our family, he loved taking us for trips to visit relatives, and to go camping every summer. All of us will remember the many miles we covered with our camping trailer to Algonquin Park, and many other Provincial parks in Ontario, and of course, the many times spent at George Millar's cottage! After a time, Dad invested in a backhoe and truck and started a business plowing snow after hours in the winter throughout Cornwall, and doing construction work, and digging septic beds, in the summer.

In the summer of 1978, they decided to design and build a home of their own on a parcel of land they had bought on the old Post Road, near Long Sault, Ontario. Dad and Mom built this home largely on their own, with some summer help from us children. Mom drew up the plans and Dad subcontracted whatever work he could not do himself, which was not much! They moved in to the new house in the fall of 1978, and over the next several years their children grew up, and moved away to jobs, or school, and started to raise families of their own. Many showers, and wedding parties were held in this home, and many visits from children and grandchildren!

Eldon married Denise Laginski on August 16, 1980 and has two children: Nathan (July 25, 1984) and Michelle (December 23, 1988).

Brenda married Dr. David Brown on July 7, 1990 and has 4 children: John (April 1, 1991), and Elizabeth, Rebecca, and William ( May 20, 1996)

Wanda married Mark MacRae on August 27, 1983 and has 2 children: Vanessa (November 21, 1988) and Stephanie (October 24, 1992)

Connie married Roch Desgagnés on October 18, 1986 and has 2 children: Christian (November 29, 1990) and Jeffrey (January 6, 1994)

Gwen married David Gibson on May 19, 1998. She has two children from a former marriage to Maurice Michaud (deceased): Jesse (January 4, 1980) and Jessica (January 23, 1981)

Ian married Monique Campeau on May 19, 2001 and has two children: Emily (July 8, 2002) and Allison (July 27, 2005)

Additionally, Mom and Dad were are also blessed with several great-grandchildren.

Dad retired from the Cornwall Fire Department after 30+ years of service on January 1, 1990. Mom and Dad retired happily in the house at Long Sault. They travelled to Florida for many winters and enjoyed visiting their children and staying over for extended visits. They were always ready to give a hand and help out in whatever way they could and took great pride in all of their children. Although Dad could be gruff, he was always ready to help his children. Many, many times he and Mom visited me to help with one thing or another, moving, children, renovations, or whatever! All of us have benefited from his gifts of his time and his generosity.

In 1993, Dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The next years were a blur of surgery, radiation treatments and hormone therapy and he pulled through it, but in 1998 Mom was diagnosed with lung cancer, and died on March 4, 1999 after a short battle and much suffering. Her loss was always a large hole in his life, and he often expressed his wish to be with her again.

On October 1, 2001, Dad sold the home they had built together and moved into an apartment in Cornwall (1026 Second Street West, App. 2). He travelled to Florida a few times after this, and kept busy visiting his family. He was very involved with his church community (the Brethren) in Ottawa and Rideau Ferry, near Smiths Falls, and most Sundays would travel up there for services and often stayed for 'fellowship' meal gatherings. I think these years were very lonely for Dad, and he tried to fill the void of Mom's loss with visiting his family and involvement with his church. He would always be travelling somewhere or other, and had the miles on the odometer to prove it! I only regret, looking back, that I did not have more patience or took more time to value these visits while he was still alive. Our own lives are so busy with our children and work commitments, that we forget that our own parents won't always be with us until it is too late.

Dad's cancer returned in 2013, but he chose not to undergo treatments again. He wanted to continue to live in his apartment until the very end. He was a strong, proud, and independent man. Although we wanted him to go to a retirement home, for his own safety and comfort, he refused adamantly and repeatedly. His health continued to deteriorate, but he continued to live in his apartment, as he desired, with the help and assistance of his family, until the day before he passed away. I am so grateful we were able to make that possible for him.

I gave Dad a gift of a Bible in 1994, which I now have with me. In the front of it he had written, "To get rid of all doubt read Joshua 1 v 7-9 Pages 205" and he had marked these verses with a check mark in the bible. I would like to share them with you:

"7. Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest: 8. This book of the law shall not depart out of they mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success; 9. "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; "be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."

Dad had a hard life growing up, but he persevered, worked hard, and created a large extended family who will remember him always. He was truly strong, and courageous! Take care, Dad, I know you are with Mom now, at peace, and in a better place. We will always love you and miss you terribly!

( Brenda )

I have so many happy memories of growing up in such a large family, sure we had our tough moments, but Mom and Dad seemed to be always there to make things right. I'll always remember moving back home with my two boys, Christian and Jeffrey, during the ice storm of January 1998. Dad kept the wood stove fired up to keep us warm, set up the camping cooking stove in the garage for Mom to prepare meals, and he even wired a light in the basement recreation room from a battery! The two weeks I spent there without electricity were tough, but we have many good memories, including playing cards with Mom and the kids, and board games. Dad was really in his element taking care of everything, he even drove me down home to see Roch for the day at our house completely covered in ice and helped Roch install a battery powered sump pump! Our Dad was one of a kind, the biggest heart you could ever find, and a very kind and generous man to not only his family, but many other people that have crossed his path.

After Mom passed on, Dad came down with diabetes just before Christmas 1999, and slipped on ice on the back step of the garage and broke a few ribs. I'll always remember him coming down to spend Christmas with my family in Coteau-du-Lac, and especially that first Christmas after Mom was gone. It was hard for him, his grieving, and I know that he passed many lonely moments afterwards, as he dearly missed our Mom.

He loved visiting relatives, and 'popping in' for a coffee, he was a very social man and loved to talk about his various jobs and experiences growing up on the farm and working out west, or his backhoe business that he was so proud of. Dad had a wonderful talent in that he could fix about anything, and if the parts were not available he would put his mind to creating and making what he needed. I always told him he could have been an engineer or inventor.

When we were kids, Dad seemed to be always gone, either working at the firehall, or in the garage overhauling Electrolux vacuum cleaners for George Millar, or out working on his 580 or 680 Case backhoe. I remember that he even welded his own trailer to transport his backhoe, with his blue half ton truck. Many times on Christmas morning when we were kids, I remember Mom telling us we had to wait until Dad came home from working the 24 hour shift at the firehall, so we patiently waited for Dad to come home before we started opening up our gifts, as a family.

He was a very proud man, and took great pride in taking care of himself, his laundry, cleaning, cooking, etc. In fact, I'll always remember the Bayshore housekeeping ladies that we hired to help him out, and later the CCAC nurses from St. Elizabeth that visited him regularly. He was always very polite, but was not shy to let them know that he could take care of himself !!

Even though the last year of his life was filled with many challenges as we helped him deal with his decreasing strength, loss of autonomy, and many doctors appointments, I feel fortune for having spent so much time with him and don't regret the many trips from Quebec City to Cornwall for the week, in fact, I wish now that I could have been there more often. I'll always remember Dr. Crabtree's comments, as Dad always told her that he "put his faith in the Lord". Just before leaving she routinely told him "Well Ed, keep doing what you're doing and I hope that God comes and takes you home''. We all knew that his bone cancer was advancing and Dad remembered what our Mom went through as her cancer progressed to the bone. I believe that God did answer Dad's prayer and decided to deliver him from his suffering, and reunite him with our Mom.

My Dad's favourite rocking chair, albeit a bit worn, is now in a special place in my home, where every time I glance at it I can still remember him... rocking while watching his favourite news station, Fox News.

We miss you dearly Dad. May God bless you and Mom, and I pray that we will all be reunited one day in Heaven.

( Connie )

It took me awhile to feel comfortable adding to this I wanted to share some memories of dad in his final year at home in Cornwall. I saw him daily, and we would go out anywhere he wanted, usually to the mall probably social time for him. My girls miss their papa dearly Emily understands however Allison who dad referred to as 'pet' is quiet about where and what has happened. We took our drives and mainly just listened to what he shared. Emily visits cemetery but Al is not there yet. I cannot take his # from our phone I often think of calling him I miss our time spent . I feel fortunate to have been close for final year to help and support his needs. He would always repeat about the bridge, seeing its construction and most of demolition. Emily took tons of photos and video which I will share soon from her phone. Dad we think of you often like at the plowing match 2 months ago I took the girls telling them how you enjoyed these outings. The girls got to see papa a lot, not so lucky with mom grandma I share often stories about her. We love you dad and you will stay in our hearts forever. Dad would always smile when Emily said I love you then he would respond love me too. Allison always told dad love you, dad would say thank you to her.....

We miss you dad today and always thinking of you...

( Ian, Monique , Emily and Allison)

Dad has always been there for me throughout my life, whatever was happening. When I was a young mother with 2 small children, Mom and Dad opened their home to me and I stayed there until I could get on my feet. When I had found a place to live, it turned out I had to work on my moving day. Lo and behold, when I got off work I found Mom and Dad had done the move for me, unpacking boxes, making beds and cribs and hanging curtains. Throughout my life, Dad was always there anytime I moved, to lend a helping hand and Mom was always there with a container of sandwiches, thermos of juice and cookies. My children have only fond memories of their time with Grandma and Grandpa.

I always enjoyed it when Dad would ‘pop’ in for a visit. He would call from a local Tim Horton’s and ask if we were home. Dad would always help me around the house, laying flooring, painting, building a deck and as he was leaving he would ask if I needed anything.

I am glad I got to spend time with Dad this year. We enjoyed going for car rides and I could tell he really liked having someone to talk to. I will miss him a lot but glad that his suffering is over and he is with Mom now.

All my love, your daughter Gwen and family.

(Gwen)

'' God looked around his garden,

and He found an empty place.

He then looked down upon this earth

and saw your tired face.

He put his arms around you

and lifted you to rest,

God's garden must be beautiful,

He always takes the best.

He knew that you were suffering,

He knew you were in pain,

He knew that you would never

get well on earth again.

He saw that the road was getting rough

and the hills were hard to climb.

So he closed your weary eyelids

and whispered "peace by thine".

It broke our hearts to lose you

but you didn't go alone,

For part of us went with you,

the day God called you home. ''

Edwin Alexander Stewart

(December 24th, 1929 - July 7th, 2015 )

* * * * * * * * * *

STEWART Edwin A. – At the Cornwall Community Hospital, McConnell Site on Tuesday July 7, 2015. Edwin Alexander Stewart of Cornwall; age 85 years. Retired from the Cornwall Fire Department after 30 plus years of service. Beloved husband of the Late Bethel Stewart ( MacLean). Dear father of Eldon Stewart (Denise) of Ottawa, Dr. Brenda Stewart ( Dr.David Brown) of Durham, Wanda MacRae ( Mark) of Cornwall, Constance Stewart (Roch Desgagnés) of Québec City, Gwen Gibson (David) of Brockville and Ian Stewart ( Monique) of Cornwall. Also survived by several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Dear son of the late James Stewart and the late Mary Ethel Hawn. Cherished brother of Lillian Ferguson of Mississauga, Arnold Stewart (Audrey) of Winchester and Mervin Stewart (Betty) of North Gower. Predeceased by his brothers Alva, William (Bill), George, twin brother Erwin, and sisters Myrtle, Audrey, Margaret and Bertha. Resting at LAHAIE AND SULLIVAN, CORNWALL FUNERAL HOME, WEST BRANCH, 20 Seventh St. West, (613-932-8482) from 2 pm Sunday. A Memorial Service will be held Monday July 13, 2015 in the Memorial Chapel of the Funeral Home at 1 pm. The family will be in attendance on Sunday from 2pm to 4pm and 7 pm to 9pm and from 11am until time of Funeral on Monday. As expressions of sympathy, Memorial Donations to the Canadian Cancer Society would be greatly appreciated by the family. Messages of condolences may be left at www.lahaiesullivan.ca

The family would like to express our sincere appreciation and thanks for the compassionate care provided by Dr. Marilyn Crabtree throughout our father’s illness.