Latest news with #GordonStewart
Globe and Mail
11-06-2025
- General
- Globe and Mail
Donna Stewart used the proceeds of her house sale to fund low-cost housing in Vancouver
Donna Jean Stewart: Teacher. Activist. Matriarch. Devout. Born Sept. 26, 1929, in Iroquois Falls, Ont.; died Dec. 18, 2024, in North Vancouver, B.C., of a brain injury; aged 95. Donna MacDougall was a brilliant child who loved to read and skipped grades in school. But she also had to endure her father's drinking and violent rages. She saved up and earned scholarships to attend university. There, she thrived, trying out for the University of Toronto women's hockey team, taking classes with Northrop Frye and earning an English Honours degree at Victoria College. She also discovered a Christian faith that healed her and inspired her to care for others. She met Gordon Stewart working at a summer camp. The handsome, athletic camp leader had a kind heart, a deep faith and a great sense of fun. Donna was immediately smitten and the feeling was mutual. They married in 1955 and moved to Orillia for their first teaching jobs. Donna and Gordon trusted and respected each other and were each other's best advocate, support and friend. Almost immediately pregnant with Ruth, the first of five children, Donna had to quit teaching. She soon gave birth to Cathy, John, Elizabeth and Alicia. In 1963, the family moved to Winnipeg for Gordon's work. Donna breast-fed her five children when formula feeding was the norm, baked bread and taught her children to cook, sewed her own curtains, knit beautiful sweaters and made room at the table for many a lonely soul. (She later said of those years, 'The CBC kept me sane!') Spending summers at Manitoba Pioneer Camp where Gordon was camp director, Donna mentored staff members and bravely shepherded her children on family canoe trips. Donna returned to teaching when her youngest reached school age. She taught Canadian women writers long before CanLit was canonical and earned an MA on Emily Carr's writings in the 1970s. In 1981 the family moved to North Vancouver when Gordon was offered a new job. There were no openings in teaching for Donna, so she took a pay cut to run the North Shore Women's Centre. Horrified by her clients' stories of abuse and limited options, she pivoted to a career as an eloquent and tireless advocate for women. At one rally she organized, someone in the crowd sneered, 'Who cares about the women and kids anyway?' Donna raised her fist and shouted fiercely, 'WE care!' It made the national news, but she was not posturing – she meant it. Donna co-ordinated campaigns to regulate violent pornography and served on the National Action Committee for the Status of Women in the 1980s. She also ran for city council and the federal NDP. In the 1990s she helped women find work in the trades and developed resources to prevent elder-abuse. In her later years she took on affordable housing, served on multiple boards and started her own charitable society. In 2010, Donna received the BC Achievement Award and the YWCA Woman of Distinction Award. But Donna was always invested in people and not accolades. Habitually honest and kind, Donna earned many lifelong friends. While she sometimes spoke before she thought and could be judgmental or reactive, Donna could also admit, mid-argument, 'Oh, well, that's true.' Whenever her children challenged her, she listened and tried to learn. Donna followed the prophet Micah's teaching: Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God. When Gordon required a decade of care for cancer and Parkinson's disease, she never flinched. When her youngest urgently needed a place to live with her three sons, Donna underwrote the lease. And when her own home tripled in value, she used the proceeds of its sale as seed-funding for affordable housing: At endless municipal meetings she fought for low-cost apartments for single mothers in a North Vancouver development – it was her proudest achievement. Shortly after her 95th birthday, she fell and suffered a brain injury that led to seizures and a rapid decline. Over the next two months, she managed – on a good day – to vote in the provincial election from her hospital bed, to smile at visitors and to tell us that she loved us all and was not afraid to die. Donna was caring, honest, impulsive, generous, intelligent and courageous. It was a gift to have known her. Elizabeth Hodgson is Donna Stewart's daughter. To submit a Lives Lived: lives@ Lives Lived celebrates the everyday, extraordinary, unheralded lives of Canadians who have recently passed. To learn how to share the story of a family member or friend, go online to You can find obituaries from The Globe and Mail here. To submit a memory about someone we have recently profiled on the Obituaries page, e-mail us at obit@
Scotsman
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- Scotsman
Largs crash: Woman in critical condition after serious collision
A woman, 78, is in hospital in serious condition following the North Ayrshire crash. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A woman is in critical condition following a serious crash in Largs. Police are appealing to the public for information about a serious crash in North Ayrshire. | Getty Emergency services were called to the crash, which involved a Ford Fiesta and a Jaguar XF, on Douglas Street at around 3.15pm on Thursday. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The 78-year-old woman driving the Ford was taken, by ambulance, to University Hospital Crosshouse in Kilmarnock, where her condition is described as critical. The 35-year-old driver of the Jaguar and his passenger, 13, did not need medical treatment. Police are now appealing to the public for information about the collision. Sergeant Gordon Stewart said: 'Our enquiries are continuing into this crash and I would urge any witnesses or anyone with information to contact us. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I would also ask any drivers on the road with dashcam from around the time of the crash to review their footage and please contact us if it holds anything relevant.
STV News
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- STV News
Woman, 78, fighting for life after two-car crash
A woman has been left fighting for her life after a two-car crash in North Ayrshire. Emergency services were called to the crash on Douglas Street, Largs, at around 3.15pm on Thursday. The incident involved involving a Ford Fiesta and a Jaguar XF. The driver of the Ford, a 78-year-old woman, was taken to Crosshouse Hospital by ambulance where her condition is described as 'critical'. The 35-year-old driver of the Jaguar and his 13-year-old passenger did not require medical treatment. Police Scotland is urging anyone with information regarding the crash to come forward. Sergeant Gordon Stewart said: 'Our enquiries are continuing into this crash and I would urge any witnesses or anyone with information to contact us. 'I would also ask any drivers on the road with dashcam from around the time of the crash to review their footage and please contact us if it holds anything relevant. 'Anyone with information should contact 101 quoting incident number 2250 of May 15, 2025.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Daily Record
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Record
Woman in 'critical' condition following serious Ayrshire car crash
A 78-year-old woman was taken to hospital following the crash which involved a Ford Fiesta and a Jaguar XF in Largs yesterday afternoon. A pensioner has been left in a "critical" condition following a "serious" car crash in Largs yesterday, Thursday, May 15. Emergency services were called to the scene on Douglas Street in the town following the incident at around 3.15pm. The incident involved a Ford Fiesta and a Jaguar XF. A 78-year-old woman, the driver of the Ford, was taken to Crosshouse Hospital where her condition was described as "critical" this morning, Friday, May 16. The occupants of the Jaguar, a 35-year-old man and his 13-year-old passenger, did not require medical treatment. Police have appealed for witnesses or anyone with information about the crash to contact them. Sergeant Gordon Stewart said: 'Our enquiries are continuing into this crash and I would urge any witnesses or anyone with information to contact us. 'I would also ask any drivers on the road with dashcam from around the time of the crash to review their footage and please contact us if it holds anything relevant. 'Anyone with information should contact 101 quoting incident number 2250 of May 15.' A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: 'Road policing officers are appealing for information after a serious crash on Douglas Street, Largs on Thursday, May 15. 'Officers were called around 3.15pm to a report of the crash involving a Ford Fiesta and a Jaguar XF. 'Emergency services attended and the 78-year-old female driver of the Ford was taken by ambulance to Crosshouse Hospital where staff describe her condition as critical. 'The 35-year-old driver of the Jaguar and his 13-year-old passenger did not require medical treatment.'
Glasgow Times
16-05-2025
- Glasgow Times
Ford driver fighting for life after serious incident
Traffic cops are appealing for vital information following a serious crash on Douglas Street in Largs. The incident happened on Thursday, May 15. Officers were alerted to the collision shortly after 3pm. It involved a Ford Fiesta and a Jaguar XF. Emergency crews raced to the scene. After that, the driver of the Ford, a 78-year-old woman, was taken to hospital. Medics have since revealed she is in a 'critical condition'. Meanwhile, the 35-year-old driver of the Jaguar, and his 13-year-old passenger, did not require any medical treatment. READ MORE: Child, 7, excluded from primary school after being 'caught with knife' READ MORE: Brazen Glasgow drug traffickers snared while waiting on flight Sergeant Gordon Stewart said: 'Our enquiries are continuing into this crash and I would urge any witnesses or anyone with information to contact us. 'I would also ask any drivers on the road with dashcam from around the time of the crash to review their footage, and please contact us if it holds anything relevant. 'Anyone with information should contact 101 quoting incident number 2250 of May 15, 2025.'
