Alex Nenson

Alex was born on Nov. 30, 1938, in Emo/Driftwood, Ontario. He was the last of 12 children so he often found himself having to fight for his place in the pecking order. He contracted polio when he was quite young, leaving him with some impairment to the learning centre of his brain. As a result, school was always a challenge for him.

Along with his brothers & sisters, he attended Benson School, which was 16 blocks from his home. This was a distance that they had to walk to and from, come rain or shine, every day. After Benson, he attended Balfour Technical Collegiate in 1955-56, where a special teacher, Mr. Spicer, took him under his wing. He provided the recommendation that got him his first job after that one year at Balfour.

Alex worked at several temporary jobs before being hired to work at the Army & Navy Store, where he worked for 29 years. Afterwards, he took disability retirement until he reached his actual retirement age in 2004, at which time he began receiving his pension.

Alex loved to walk and as a result, he was a familiar sight to many on the streets of downtown Regina for many years. He lived in a boarding house on Cornwall Street for 22 years before moving to the Heritage apartment complex on Lorne St., so he was always within walking distance of all his familiar haunts. After receiving his pacemaker in 2018, he was forced to move into a private care home because of his declining abilities. Diabetes left him with weakened eyesight that continued to deteriorate over time.

In 2022, he moved to the Santa Maria Nursing Home. Staff and family members who visited were always amazed at his memory. He was always able to communicate exact details of long past events, even citing the exact dates that had long disappeared from others’ memory. He spent his last 3 years at Santa Maria, where he received excellent care for which we all thank them.