Valerie Christine Pressel

Valarie was born, June 3, 1952 at the Plummer Hospital in Sault Ste Marie Ontario. Right from the get go she was a beautiful baby. She was the fifth in a family of eight. Her parents Sydney and Christina Peplow had married in 1941. She had blonde curly hair and was a happy baby. Of all the 8 kids Valerie was said by her brothers & sisters the easiest to get along with. Valerie always tried to do what was right by her Mom & Dad as well as her siblings. She was considered by every member as the jewel of the family.

Valarie attended Francis H Clergue Public school where she made lifelong friends. When she was in grade one representatives from Simpson Sears went to the school. Simpson Sears at that time was the number one retailer in Canada.They were looking for pupils to model clothes for their upcoming ads. They picked Valerie to be one of the models. It was her naturally curly hair & wholesome looks that Simpsons Sears found highly attractive.

She completed her primary school at Francis H Clergue graduating from grade 8 in 1968. Valerie then attended Sault Collegiate Institute where completed her grade 12. Valerie was the only one of the eight children in her family to complete high school. Valerie did this not to show up her siblings but to please her parents. It was a statement about her character that impressed anyone that came to know her.

How did Valerie & I meet? Well here it goes. One of Valerie's close friends from school was Vicki Toivonen (her sister Margie would be in our wedding party) were out about the town together. My friend Peter Mizzi & I were cruising Queen Street when Peter spied Vicki, a girl he had an interest in. Peter said why don’t we ask them out for a coffee. Vicki was also curious about Peter as well. So we slowed down & invited them to go for a coffee. They accepted.& we went out for a coffee. While Vicki & Peter were engaged I started telling Valerie some jokes. I was a little awkward as Valerie was quite a pretty girl & I was intimidated by her beauty. Nevertheless Valerie seemed to enjoy my humour & this was my introduction to her infectious laugh. Val seemed really comfortable with me & enjoyed our time together. Peter & I dropped Vicki & Valerie off later on that evening. After that first encounter Valerie said to Vicki I think I am going to end up marrying that guy!! This occurred in 1968 when Valerie was in grade 8 at Francis H Clergue. Wow, I think back we started dating when she was still in primary school.

I felt encouraged enough to call Valerie & ask her for a date & she accepted. At that time Valerie was in grade 8 at Francis Clergue Public School. I was just starting an apprenticeship in electrical at Mannesmann Tube. Soon we started to spend all the free time we had together & enjoyed it. We were very happy & comfortable together. Now Valerie's older sisters had run into some rough times with their relationships; having gotten pregnant with their then boyfriends. Valerie was deeply affected by this & was determined not to get involved with someone who was focused on this kind of relationship. Now I should say here that I was no different than the guys her sisters got involved with but was put in my place by Valerie's boundary's. She had very strong feelings about keeping her word & showing her parents that they had not gone wrong in trusting her. She stated these boundaries to me as a requirement of our relationship. I was disappointed but really I was happy to be with her period as she was such a great person & she laughed at my jokes. Another thing Valerie had made up her mind to do was finish high school, Valerie graduated from grade 12 in 1972, This was my introduction to one of her qualities, her IRON resolve.

Another main quality of Valerie's was helping her family at every opportunity that presented itself. She always took second place in her life it was more important to her to put her family & friends first. Valerie's work ethic was second to none as well. Valerie had her antennae up at all times looking for how she could improve her relationships. If her mom, grandma, friend said I am going to clean my closet, move, paint a wall, Val would just show up ready to work. Combined with her ethic & punctuality, it was a potent characteristic. People were afraid to say they were going to do something because Val would show up & they would have to do it. She was a work monster.

Valerie was a great granddaughter as well, visiting her grandmother who lived across the street from her parents on Pim St.. Elizabeth Mitchell, her maternal grandmother was a warm and friendly person who immediately accepted me. I was always telling funny stories & Grandma Mitchell loved to hear them. Gramma Mitchell was in her 80s and her eyesight was very poor. The dishes were not always as clean as grandma thought nor was the food as fresh. Her grandmother would always offer something to eat and usually it had been in the fridge for a few days or weeks (months , years?). This will give you a window into Val’s mischievous side. When her grandmother would offer something to eat Val would say no thank you but Lee will eat it. She would set me up, laughing all the time. On one occasion her grandmother offered me ice cream from the freezer that had probably been in there for over a year. It had hoar frost about an inch long on it. Val laughed about that for months after. I threatened not to visit with her grandmother anymore but her grandma was such a lovable lady I always did enjoy the visit.

Val’s family had found a stray cat and kept it for 23 years. They named the cat Kitty. Valerie loved Kitty & had an affection for cats. At this time I had rented an apartment across the street from Val’s home on Pim St. It was Valerie’s practice to come to my apartment at noon from school & just chill out usually with her buddy Luba. On one occasion on their way to the apartment they came across a cat that seemed to be lost. When I came home from work that day I found a cat in the apartment. Val informed me it was our cat. I just shrugged my shoulders & said fine. I was starting to learn about relationships with women. The cat would sleep all day and get up at night and jump all over me when I was trying to sleep. I tried tying it up so I could get some sleep. It would run until it reached the end of its leash and then fall hitting the floor making such a racket. I was afraid it was going to break its neck. I ended up locking it in the bathroom so I could get get sleep. I was working day shifts at the tube mill at that time. Val had named the cat Serena it was anything but serene.

Valerie graduated from high school in June of 1972. Val never thought her graduation was for her. She just wanted to show her parents that they had done all the right things raising her. She wanted her graduation to honour her parents. This was another indicator as to how Valerie put others first & her commitment to values,

Since we were inseparable we decided to marry that fall. Our marriage took place at St. Luke’s Cathedral on September 2, 1972. Mark Watkiss graciously consented to be our best man, Don Brown, Tim Sanderson (Vicki Toivonen’s boyfriend) & my brother Paul rounded out the guys. Luba Wyslocky was maid of honour, with Marg Toivonen, Marlene Rahkola, and my sister Linda in the wedding party. Val’s brother John gave Valerie away as her Dad choose not to based on his religious beliefs regarding entering another church. Our reception was held at the Centennial Bowling Lanes on Gore St. The hall had been decorated by the wedding party & Val's mom. There were abut 50 people who attended. September 2 1972 was also historical in the fact that Canada & the Soviet Union started an 8 game hockey series on that date. Sometimes during the reception I would sneak upstairs to watch the game much to Val’s chagrin.

Tim Little who was a friend of ours at that time got married on the same day. We had decided to meet up as we both were honeymooning at the same resort. I totally loved Tim‘s mom Bee she was like a den mother to all Tim‘s friends. Bee was an incredible lady with the ability to connect with anyone especially if they liked to play cards.. She is always in my thoughts & Valerie loved her to. Valerie & I go to Bee's home & camp at Bright Lake.Tim’s dad was also an exception person who just loved the outdoors , fishing, hunting or just cutting wood. His parents were always generous & had an open invitation for us to visit them anytime even if Tim wasn't around.

We honeymooned in Marinette Wisconsin with Tim & Tuula Little, The resort’s name was The Dome & like many at the time it was catering to the huge baby boomer weddings of the era. The resort had everything included from horseback riding to bowling right on site. They also had a few theme restaurants, one of which was a higher class where each table had their own waiter. I took Valerie there for supper one night. Now I should say here Val loved to put ketchup on everything and she also would drink the vinegar from pickles. We both ordered steak. When the waiter brought the steaks he went to his station but he noticed Val was looking for something so he came & asked what she was looking for. She said “ketchup“, his eyes widened, this was a blue ribbon steak & she wanted to put ketchup on it!! He said “I will check to see if we have some in the kitchen“. I fully expected the chef to roar out of the kitchen swinging a meat cleaver screaming who is the person that wants ketchup for their steak

Our very first apartment was on Schaefer Avenue where we lived for two years. Serena was still with us & as crazy as ever. We took Serena to the vet to get spade only to find out Serena was a boy. Who looks!! Anyway he got fixed & his name was still Serena & he was still nuts. He could jump form sitting almost 2 meters it was amazing to see. I would pull string over the top of a door & he would jump almost right to the top to grab the paper I had tied there. It was also his habit to sit on the top of the frig and bat you on the head when you walked by. One day he laid on the floor by Val & never got up his kidneys failed & he just died without a pep. We were heart broken.

Valerie was not crazy about cooking but she applied herself. One day I came home from work & Val said ‘I made homemade chicken soup tonight for supper‘. When she brought the soup out it was like clear lake water. She had precooked the chicken then boiled it so it was as dry as the sole on your boot. I enjoyed teasing her about this for a while but she had her ways of paying me back. She was in the habit of writing me love notes in my lunch. She would put the note right in the sandwich. I was sitting there with about 12 other men when I bit into my lunch sandwich. The paper pulled out & dropped over my chin with the words I love you visible to all the men. Well you can see how this went over with all guys at the lunch table. It was I love you Lee tee hee hee & so it went for a while. I am sure underneath they were all jealous.

In August 1973 Val had gotten pregnant with our first child. I had also completed my apprenticeship and was starting to make a little more money. We decided to look for a home to buy. We looked at Soo Mill homes and found one we liked. Val’s uncle was kind enough to lend us the down payment on a semi-detached house on 14 Alden Road. The full price for a newly constructed home then was 23,000 & it was a serious investment. I was working lots of overtime at the time & managed to pay back Val’s uncle in under a year. Another of Valerie's principals was family was paid first & not taken for granted.

We were to move in to Alden Road May 1st 1974 but Val was pregnant with our first child. On April 29th Val had started having contractions. It was about 7:00AM in the morning & when she said she was having cramps. I got up thinking they would pass not realizing that it was contractions she was having. So I started making bacon & eggs. I was standing in my underwear in front of the stove when she came out of the bedroom. She said “what the hell are you doing the baby is coming“. I went into shock & raced around hoping it would happen tomorrow then I would be ready. I rushed her to the hospital. On April 29, 1974 we had a baby daughter Destine Luba. We were on cloud nine. We still had to move into our new home May 1st. To show you the kind of friends Valerie attracted Debbie & Mel Mount were there to help on moving day. Both of them were tireless workers without whose help the move would have been hell. Debbie swore Val would do anything to get out of moving. This would set a pattern. Every time we moved it seemed Val was giving birth & Debbie & Mel were the movers.

I completed my apprenticeship at the tube mill but left in 1974 to work at Algoma Steel on construction. Yah, no more shift work. Things were booming at the steel mill in 1974 but by 1976 everything started to shut down & I was laid off. This scared Valerie and I as to how we were going to make ends meet. Also Val was pregnant with our second child. One of my friends Joe Kin was a drywall contractor and he suggested that I start an electrical contracting business. Dave Elgie also was starting up as a building contractor and assisted me in getting started in business as well.

On April 26, 1976 Caliber Electric was born. Construction was booming. I priced a bunch of houses for Dulio Pozzebon construction & was successful. The only problem was I had never wired a house before. I was an industrial construction electrician. Dave Elgie also accepted my bids to wire the homes he was building. Wiring a house is not rocket science but it does take time. Most of the contractors wiring houses did one or more in a day. It took me three days to do the first one working 12 hours everyday. This scared the construction company as they were waiting to sell these houses and I was already holding them up on the first house. I ended up working the first six months seven days a week 10 to 12 hours everyday. During this time Val would bring the kids by to visit. Finally I was starting to wire the houses as quickly as the other contractors.

On September 20th 1976 we had a second daughter Mandy Dionne. At that time we had sold our house on Alden Road. We were renting one of the Hearly homes that Dave Elgie had built on Sutton Place and were about to move in. Well you guessed it Val was in the hospital giving birth to Mandy when we made this move. Debbie & Mel at the helm again.

We had purchased a lot on Caddy Avenue in 1976. We were going to build our own home. Valerie picked out the plan for a side split home. We started construction the following spring of 1977. I did as much as I could myself to save money during the construction of our house. Even though the home was a side split Valerie wanted the basement to be all one level. This made for a 12 foot ceiling in half the basement. Nick Pozzebon construction framed & shingled the house. I did the wiring. A high school football chum of mine, Rick Turpin did the plumbing & I later wired his house. My friend Joe Kin & I did the drywall. Valerie was in charge of the house colours & I painted what I was told. Valerie was coming into her own as an interior decorator in which she showed good vision & taste. Valerie’s friend Maureen Elgie was a trained interior decorator & Valerie would seek out advice from Maureen. We finished the home in June 1978. You guessed it, Val was in the hospital during the move & Debbie & Mel had their moving clothes on.

June 23rd of 1978 Valerie gave birth to our baby Desiree Ann. We had planned on just having two kids but you know how things go. We welcomed Desi and Val decided that three kids was enough. Right from the birth Desiree started to exhibit problems with her health. At four months she was diagnosed with failure to thrive. What ever we fed Desiree seemed to go right through her without being digested. We ended up taking Desi to Sick Kids hospital in Toronto. They started to investigate us because they thought that we were not feeding the baby. This stunned us as anyone would know that Val was the quintessential mother hen. Val doted on her children.

Desiree recovered on her own & started to digest her food. She was a happy camper always ready to give a kiss. Val and I would be sitting there and Desiree would pucker up wanting a kiss. We got the biggest kick out of her. Desiree was a little slow at progressing but she seemed fine.

Valerie had also taken over the family get togethers Christmas, Easter and other events. Valerie’s mother loved Christmas as did Valerie it was when family would take time to get together. Valerie cherished the times family would get together. It was a family tradition to play card or other games during these times. One of the games we would play was lyre’s dice. It was hilarious to watch Val’s mom as she just couldn’t lie & we would catch her every time.

Things were going well with the business and we were making money. Times were very bright and the future look good.

I purchased a couple of homes in 1981 in the hopes of flipping them for profit. They were older homes, but as the old saying goes they’re not making any more land. I felt at that time that these would be a good investment. Val agreed although she had reservations. Vals Dad had retired & he was a bit of a handyman

Who liked to tinker with things. He helped out with some of the repairs to the houses I had purchased. On one occasion I asked Sid to pick up a pizza I had ordered just down the street at Auroras’ Restaurant. Valerie & I were painting at the time. Now Sid loved to whistle & we could hear him whistling as came walking back with the pizza under his arm. He had turned the box on its side and all the topping dropped to the bottom. Well you know Valerie’s laugh she just couldn’t stop, her poor dad was so embarrassed.

As my business grew I took on larger projects. I managed to get a major housing project for close to half a million dollars. I t looked like1982 was going to be a really good year.

Then all of a sudden the wheels fell off or maybe a better term would be our whole life exploded. The economy stopped & the company was under enormous financial pressure. Then we got the news that Desiree who was getting sick again had a brain tumour. We had to take her to Sick Kids Hospital. They performed a bunch of tests & found that her situation was even more serious then they first thought. The tests showed a huge mass of tumours in her neck & around the spine where it attaches to the skull. She had NF or Neurofibromatosis. The tumours had dislocated her jaw & were starting to close off her throat. Her situation was dire.

Valerie & I would be at the hospital every morning & stay the whole day with Desiree. It broke our hearts to see some of the other children there alone day after day, Valerie was also worried how the two older girls were coping being at home with no contact with her. Due to the business I was compelled to leave her there in TO, Fortunately Luba came down & stayed in Toronto with her. Luba was a great friend & comforter to Val through this period. I would make trips back & forth. It seemed to be taking forever to get the tests, then the results, then the decision about treatment. It was 5 weeks in Toronto. Finally we were called in to see the surgeon. The surgeon in Toronto said her case was hopeless. He said take her home there was nothing they could do she was terminal the surgery in her neck was too complex to perform.

I should say here that the 2 older girls Destine & Mandy were worried about their sister. Valerie & I thought that surgery was certain for Desiree so I flew home from Toronto. We decided that I should drive them down to Sick Kids to reassure them that Desiree was still OK before her surgery. We were worried how badly the surgery could go. I had to drive the girls back to the Sault after the 2 days they spent at the hospital. When we got to Sudbury a major snow storm struck between the Sault & Sudbury. It was heavy wet snow the size of sidewalk slabs hitting the car. It was late Sunday night pitch black & halfway to Blind River the car started stalling due to the wet snow coming in on the engine. I had to try & dry the wiring with Mandy’s panty hose. It took 3 hours to get to Blind River & the gas tank was almost empty. I had filled up in Sudbury. Lucky for us the gas station in Blind River was still open. The snow quit & we made it home without any further events.

Valerie & Luba flew home from Toronto with Desiree. At the airport when Val & Luba got out of the cab a porter rushed up & asked if he could take Valerie’s bags. Valerie had Desiree & said ok. Well I guess the Air Canada desk was a bout a 30M across the concourse or like a one minute walk. All Val had in her purse was a fifty dollar bill. She gave the porter the 50 thinking he would give her change he just smiled & walked away. Well Luba just laughed as Val stood there. Well we would laugh at it later.

When Desiree came home after her diagnosis we just couldn’t accept the thought of her dying. Valerie was in shock & she was totally rung out emotionally & exhausted from the whole time away. I read everything I could about Desiree’s disease. Then I started talking to people in Chicago who were with the NF foundation. Valerie & I decided that we would get a second opinion. The people at the NF Foundation suggested the Mayo Clinic or the University of Southern California. I called the Mayo Clinic two days after we got home from TO on Thursday Dec 2 1982. I explained she had been sent home terminal. They set up an appoint for the following Tuesday Dec 7 1982. Desiree & I met with Dr. Bruce Pearson at 2:30 PM that day. He called Toronto & asked for her files to be sent there. He also ordered a battery of tests as well. In two days Wednesday & Thursday by noon we had redone every test except her radio angiogram that had taken 4 weeks to do at Sick Kids. He asked me to wait till Monday to give me a decision as he wanted to discuss her small brain tumour with Dr. Laws who was in LA at the time. I was in awe of fast things worked at the Mayo

Desi & I met with Drs. Pearson & Dr. Laws on Monday morning at 10:00 PM. Dr Laws said that the brain tumour was not life threatening & if he removed it she would be blind. Then Dr. Pearson stated that there were 2 reasons he wouldn’t operate. One he didn’t think surgery would be successful or two I said no. He said he could do it, I ok when. He said tomorrow at 8:00 AM. Then he stated we scheduled for admittance at St. Mary’s Hospital at 4:30 that day. We also had to see a separate team of doctors to confirm Desi’s need for surgery all before 4:30. It was a whirlwind. I called Valerie & told her that Desiree was going to have surgery the next morning. Valerie immediately broke down crying that she didn’t want her baby deformed. We had been told by SK that to remove the tumours around her spine her head would have to be supported by steel rods for the rest of her life. I reassured Val that the Dr Pearson was sure he could remove them safely. He did explain the seriousness & the complexity of the surgery & that death was a possibility. He had to have 3 other surgeons assist with surgery because it was so complicated.

The surgery took 8 hours & Desiree came through with flying colours. I couldn’t stop crying for 2 days as well as Val because we were so relieved. On December 23rd I brought Desiree home. It was the greatest Christmas present we could ever ask for. Desiree’s recovery was nothing short of miraculous. Now when I pulled in the driveway Desi got out ran up the side of the house Val flew out the front door looking for her baby who was nowhere in site. Then they connected Val showering her with kisses it made me cry & her cry to finally be back together again.

Now was time to face the challenges brought on by the costs of the surgery, hospital stays, bankruptcies & the high interest rates. One day we were living on Caddy Ave the next day we were renting Valerie’s parents home. Her parents who were always supportive of us had made arrangements to rent an apartment so we would have a place to stay. Valerie never batted an eye this was just what we had to do & that was that. She never complained she was an iron rod.

Nothing strains a relationship more than finances coupled with a sick child. I was so depressed by the finances that some days I just couldn’t get out of bed. Valerie couldn’t relate to my depression it was just get up & get going. She always kept herself busy & she was determined that the family would get through this together no matter if I was sick or not. She was the cement that held us all together. At this time Val’s sister Heather had purchased the neighbourhood corner store known as Charlie’s. It had a coffee bar & offered light lunches. Val took a job there to help make ends meet. On one occasion Val went into work wearing her sunglasses. Everyone seemed extra friendly that day looking at Val with smiles on their faces. It was about an hour before someone actually told her that one of the lens had fallen out. She had worn them with only one lens not realizing it. Well the customers loved razzing her about that. I should say here that Valerie was very private & not want me to say too much about our personal business. The reason I mention it is to show how incredible she was through some of the most desperate situations that couples have to face.

One of the reasons Val took the job was because she wanted to make some money to help the kids get what things they needed. Now she was Scottish & it showed in how she managed her money. Waterbeds were all the rage at the time. She saved & for Christmas that year & she bought the kids waterbeds. She also saved money for a holiday vacation. She felt that if I could get away maybe I would be less stressed about our finances. Another example of her doing something positive to make things better rather then just throwing your hands in the air .

Life long friends Joe & Susan Kin loved to vacation somewhere warm in the spring to get a start on their tans early. Valerie & I made arrangements for her parents to look after the kids & we took our first vacation together in 5 years. We had returned in to the Dome in Marinette in 1982 to celebrate our 10th anniversary. That was the only vacation we had had in 10 years because of the business. We flew to St Lucia on April 26th 1987 for a 2 week holiday. The weather was perfect, the food was great & the people were friendly & social able. We had a great time.

The next year we took the kids to Disney World in Orlando Florida. We went with Joe & Susan Kin & their children Andrew & Sarah. Ford & Wendy Upton also came with their 2 kids John & Sarah. When we arrived in Toronto we had to run to catch our flight to Florida. This was probably the best holiday anyone could have hoped for. The weather was great, everyone got along fantastically. We would spent the morning hitting the rides & events. The afternoons we would spent at the hotel pool relaxing. Valerie did almost get us kicked out of the Sea Wake in Tampa. Desiree had peed the bed & Val stripped the sheets & put them in the laundry chute. The owner called us in & had our bill all made out. He was furious at us for stealing the sheets. If his wife had not intervened we would have been sent away but things worked out & it was a holiday extraordinaire.

Again in 1990 Valerie & I went to the Dominican Republic with Joe & Susan as well as Terry & Les Sherback . It was also a great experience. That would end our holiday excursions on our own.

Valerie always stayed in contact with her many friends & this seemed to help her through the periods when things were rough. On one occasion years earlier I had a yellow ford pick up, Val went to visit Maureen Elgie who was living on March St at the time. She was suffering from a cold & had taken some Nyquil. Well it made her kind of woozy. She drove straight into their driveway but didn’t stop hitting & breaking their front steps. Maureen laughed about it for years afterwards. Valerie was totally embarrassed by the whole thing. David was gracious & said he was thinking of replacing them anyway. We were very blessed by both David & Maureen friendships over the years.

Debbie Mount was also a confidant of Valerie’s & they would hang out often. Every week or so they would go out shopping. One of Debbie quirks was bras. It used to drive Val crazy because Debbie would shop for hours looking at bras. She was very fussy about them. Finally she would buy one then the next day call Val & say I am taking it back.

Valerie was non-political so she was the ideal person to centre the family. She was always available to help them & visited her parents regularly. Valerie was also a tireless worker who was always doing something either decorating, gardening or whatever. She continually had honey do lists which drove me nuts. The gardening would soon become one of her chief passions but first we had the children to look after.

Val’s mom having 8 kids had taken to yelling. Val picked up on some of this as well. She also wanted the kids to be afraid of us to keep them in line. She felt this fear of her dad was most effective in influencing how she behaved. I didn’t like the idea of the kids being afraid of me. Our difference here lead to many arguments about the kids disciplining but neither of us would give ground. I always said you could tell she was Scottish but you couldn’t tell her much. The sad part of this was we had the same ambitions & hopes for their futures. We just couldn’t get together on the methods.

I never thought that we would ever be able to purchase a home but in 1985 I was proved wrong. My mother & Valerie went to look at a home on Hugill St. Valerie was struck by the home. She wanted to purchase it in the worst way. I had a whole life policy that I had been paying on since we got married so I cashed it out. I had also purchased a couple of cottage lots in the Goulais Bay area in 1979. My mother agreed to purchase one & this gave us enough equity down payment to qualify for a mortgage. So we purchased 79 Hugill. It was a 2200 square foot sprawling bungalow & Valerie loved it. It would be where we would host many family & friends events& raise our children till the left home.

Val was very active with her friends & family visiting them every week. Even though we had qualified to purchase the home our finances were still very weak. I had felt that we should have waited before taking on a mortgage commitment. Val was still taking our pay cheques into the bank every week & the teller would have to have the bank manager to sign them so we could get paid. I kept having nightmares that one day he would just say no. Valerie stayed strong & still kept our marriage & family going through this time by just being steady & doing what needed to be done.

We spent 14 years on Hugill St & saw our kids grow up there & move on. In March of 1996 we got our first grandchild Sydney Christina Pressel-McMenemy. She was a doll & Val was in heaven. Nobody could handle Sydney like me I used to tease Val. If Sydney was upset & crying all I had to do was just pick her up & she would stop fussing. This used to drive Valerie nuts. In April we got our second grandchild Desiree gave birth to another girl Morgan Ashley. Morgan more or less lived with us very second week because we were concerned about Desiree managing the baby. I got the greatest kick out of her & just whisker burned her to death. She was so cute. Val would take them out often to the park or petting zoo. She loved baby sitting them. Sometimes Debbie Mount would bring her granddaughter over & they would film them interacting & you could here that infectious laugh of Val’s in the background.

In the summer of 1996 my mother sent me a videotape of a guy, Ken Ham who was a Christian apologist. I frankly thought Jesus was dealt a raw deal but I was turned off by the Christians. I new for sure I couldn’t be one. I just didn’t what to be another Christian hypocrite. I knew I would fall way short of the bar. I watched the tapes & was stunned by the accuracy of what he had to say. He was preaching creationism. I thought science had put that baby to bed long ago but the more I looked the more I saw how wrong I was. He wasn’t smoking something in the back room he was using the science itself. We al know science deals with the facts to the exclusion of all prejudice. Wait hold on then what did come first the chicken or the egg? Anyway this lead me further into the bible & I started a dialogue with Val. It was becoming a bridge in our relationship drawing us even closer together. Now I should say we were cautious about religion based on our family’s experience with it.

We started together to open out hearts to hear what the bible would tell us without picking a church. I know it sound corny but that is what we decided. We started slowly to get a grip on the most difficult notion offered up by God. We were saved by grace. Grace has no place in the human mind it too foreign to digest. How is it possible for a person to be a Christian when they screw their pants on one leg at a time. The reality was no was perfect. But love finds a way, even though there is nothing in the human experience that rivals the notion of Christian charity not one can do it on their own. Paul stated it clearly when he was praying to have his thorn removed all he got was my grace is sufficient for you. It was for us way, what? Even Paul wasn’t perfect after his conversion could this possibly be what free means. Love gives freely Val & I came to the same realization it is love that sets you free in Jesus Christ. He is paying the price for out short falls. That short of God himself & not some proxy designated by God , that HE had to come in the flesh & die for our sins. In Sept 1996 we started attending City Bible Church.

In the fall of 1996 Val’s sister found out she had cancer in her bowels. Dr. Wald was her doctor & he recommended chemotherapy because of the size of the tumour. Heather decided to go to Hamilton where they operated & removed the tumour. The surgery did not go well. Val’s niece Terry was in a state of shock because Heather was in Hamilton & fears were she might pass away there. Terry had an intense fear of flying but it was the only way Terry could get to see her mom. Val made arrangements for Terry’s plane fare & we took her to the airport. I believe this was around the end of October. Heather ended up being transferred back to the Sault.

The year 1997 would prove to be a trying year for Val & her family. On January 21st Heather passed away. Val was there with her when she went. Val’s mom had lupus for a couple of years & her health started to rapidly deteriorate in 1997. Val was in the habit of taking her Mom out shopping faithfully at least once every week. Shopping was her moms favourite thing to do. I used to tease her mom as the queen of nick knacks. Debbie & Val would take her out in a wheel chair & threaten to roll her downstairs if she didn’t behave herself. Her mom loved it. Her mom just enjoyed being teased & we enjoyed bugging her mom. We had her mom & dad over for supper at least once every 2 weeks for the last couple of years. Her mom ended up in the hospital in June & passed away August 13. As with Heather, Valerie was by her mother’s bedside when passed. Val was heart broken.

We started to get more involved in church activities. Holding bible studies at our home, attending church functions & getting to know the church members. Valerie was always about expanding your circle of friends& not standing on the sidelines. She was always the first to volunteer & the last to leave. She would not miss an event stating even if I do not want to go someone there might be encouraged by us just being there.

Now with everyone gone from home I wanted to move & get some equity out of our home so things would be a little better financially. So we decide to sell the home on Hugill in May of 1999. It sold in three days with us getting the asking price. Val had seen a home on Florwin Drive that needed bunch of work but she had a vision of how it could be fixed up. We made an offer in May & the owner accepted. Valerie loved Hugill & was sad to move but she had big plans for Florwin. The challenge of basically starting from scratch seduced her. I was in for a ton of work as she wanted the whole house gutted out. What one sees now at Florwin is all her vision. It was a major transformation for the better.

In October of 2000 Valerie discovered a lump on her left breast. The biopsy came back it was breast cancer. As with everything Val had faced in her life it was just one foot in front of the other. She did not panic & stated we get through this as well. I was in shock. I was terrified but I just kept a brave face for her agreeing it was just another hurdle to over come. She was operated on in November & they removed just the lump & some lymph nodes from under her arm. They found cancer cells in one of them. Val then went through a round of chemotherapy treatments. They were hard on her by making her nauseous but we found a drug that took that away. She felt much better then. In the spring Val went to Sudbury for 4 weeks of radiation treatments. After her last treatment she headed down to be with Mandy who was pregnant with her first son. Val was there when Kyle was born. She was still the mother hen.

Things went well for the next 5 years Val showed no signs of any cancer. Then in the fall of 2006 Val started having pain in her left shoulder. She went to the chiropractor but that didn’t seem to help. In February 2007 she went to Dr. Walde for her annual check up. He immediately ordered an x-ray & they found cancer in her bone. Now we knew that it was only a matter of time before the disease would take her away. Val was a fighter she wasn’t going to take it lying down. She started exercising & investigated foods that would help’ When she focused on something she had the self discipline to carry it through. I was so grateful for her courage & determination not to give up. It would mean that I would have more time with her as she going down easy.

Val had developed a deep faith in Jesus. She was boldly telling people about it & encouraging them to reflect on things that were eternal. Her faith was a huge comfort to her & she was hoping her example would rub off on whoever she met. People would say to me how incredibly brave she was & how thankful they were to have known her. Val had her private moments where she became very sad. It just tore my heart out to see it. I was also determined to do everything in my power to make her as comfortable as possible.

The disease continued to progress to the point where Val could no longer walk. We moved Val in the local hospice in April. The Algoma Regional Community Hospice was where she would spend the rest of her days. She passed away August 6th 2012. God rest her soul.th

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PRESSEL, Valerie – It is with profound sadness that the family announces the passing of Valerie Christine Pressel at ARCH on Monday, August 6, 2012 in her 60th year. Valerie has fought the good fight and has gone to be with her Saviour Jesus Christ. Best friend and wife of Lee Pressel for 40 years. Loving mother of Destine Pressel, Mandy Birch (Mike) and Desiree Pressel (deceased). Beloved grandmother of Sydney, Morgan, Kyle, Tyler, Lee and Patience. Daughter of Sydney and Tina Peplow (deceased). Sister of Richard Peplow (deceased) (Joanne), Dianne Rogers, Heather Thurlow (deceased), John Peplow (Roxanne), Laurie Ellis (Bruce), Debbie Peplow, Bob Peplow (Cathy). Valerie will be missed by her many friends, nieces and nephews. The family would like to express their thanks to Dr. Spadafora, Dr. Bedhun, the staff at the Cancer Clinic and the exceptional people at ARCH. Friends may call at the Arthur Funeral Home & Cremation Centre on Thursday, August 9, 2012 from 6 – 9 pm. Funeral service in the chapel on Friday, August 10, 2012 at 1 pm. Rev. Sam Norbo officiating. Donations can be made to ARCH, City Bible Building Fund or a charity of your choice.