Photo Courtesy of The Windsor Star
 
A ROTARY TRIBUTE IN MEMORY OF LOUIS MAYRAND
 
President Jules Hawkins, Family Members of the late, distinguished Rotarian Louis Mayrand, Fellow Rotarians and Guests:
 
It is indeed a personal privilege and a distinct honour to have been asked to present this Rotary tribute in memory of long-standing Rotarian Louis Mayrand, better known as Louie.  At age 90 Louie, having resided comfortably for the last few years at Sunrise Retirement Home, passed away peacefully on July 24, 2018.
 
Rotarians, please allow me to challenge you.  What recollections do you have of the highlight events of 1957? Let me recall a few:
  • Lester B. Pearson was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for having negotiated a diplomatic settlement of the Suez Canal crisis,
  • John Diefenbacker led the Conservative Party to victory in the Canadian election.
  • Communist Hungary was a leader in establishing and maintaining more liberal economic and cultural policies.
  • Rocket Richard and Jean Beliveau were in their prime with the Montreal Canadians.
  • And not the least of many significant events in 1957, Louis Mayrand was inducted as a proud Rotarian in what today is the Rotary Club of Windsor (1918). 
If he were still with us, PDG Roy Lancaster would indeed, with pride and with confidence, affirm that in 1957, he as a young Rotarian invited and sponsored Louie to be a Rotarian.  I know of only one former member of our Club who may have rivalled Louie with 60 or more years of continuous membership. 
 
Louie's Classification was:  Motor Freight Trailer, Manufacturing.  He made good use of his vocational expertise and resources in serving the ideals of Rotary.  He became a proud Paul Harris Fellow with two sapphires.  Likewise, his wife Dolores who is with us today also is a Paul Harris Fellow.  Congratulations!
 
Had I reached out to members of the Club who were here in the third quarter of the last century to enquire what they remember of Louie, I would have discovered and would have had it affirmed that albeit Louie was never a high profile person, he was always dependable in the trenches; cheerfully doing the work of Rotary.  He never had to be asked twice to do a task. You could always be sure that, without reminders, Louie would do what he had volunteered to do.  He had a genuine zest for life and enjoyed it fully and generously.  He truly was a role model for many in SERVICE above SELF.  He was a firm believer and practitioner of the FOUR WAY TEST!
 
I am better able to reflect on my own experiences with Louie in the 1980's and 1990's.
  1. Who remembers unloading from a tractor trailer the stage settings for our annual Easter Seal Telethons at the CBC building on Riverside Drive and later at Kennedy Collegiate and then reloading the trailer after the Telethon weekends?  It was Louie who provided trailer storage and the conveyance for those stage settings.
  2. Who remembers fishing soft drink cans out of large tubs filled with ice water at our own Rotary food booths at Art in the Park until our fingers were numb with cold; and then taking turns at the huge, hot BBQ’s flipping burgers?  Louie was always there with his chef’s apron.
  3. Who remembers going up and down the aisles in the Bingo Hall on Ouellette Avenue, barking,
“Get your Supers now; buy your Jackpots, only 25 cents each or 3 for 50?”
  Being a super salesman, Louie then joined us for beer and pizza at Crescent Bowling  
  Lanes.  Louie was one of our dependable, regular Bingo volunteers.
 
In my conversations with Louie, knowing that he was a very modest person, I never asked him what his many Rotary achievements had been.  On one occasion, I did however ask what his fondest early memories of Rotary were.  Without hesitation and with great exuberance he responded,
            * “The wiener roasts we used to have were a delight!” 
*  “Our in-house Keno fundraisers were a joy!”
Many of us learned from Louie the importance of FUN and FELLOWSHIP as we go about “Service above Self!”
 
Eleven years ago, at the time of his 50th Membership Anniversary, the Board of Directors bestowed Louis Mayrand with a well-deserved Life Membership.  In 2012 when he became home bound, the Board switched Louie from Active Membership to Honourary Membership.  He accepted both designations with deep pride and sincere gratitude. 
 
And now, dear fellow Rotarians and guests, please stand for a moment of silence in memory of our truly distinguished fellow Rotarian, Louis Mayrand.
 
******
 
President Jules Hawkins, a copy of this tribute will be presented to Mrs. Dolores Mayrand and a copy will be placed in an archival file in the Rotary office.
 
 
Delivered by:  Walter P. Willms, Past President