I just received my February issue of Downhome and was saddened to read about the passing of Ron Young. I am a Newfoundland expat living in Ontario since 1971. In the summer of 1988, my wife Barb and I were living in the west end of Toronto, not far from 23 division where Ron was a police officer. Barb worked as a waitress within a ten minute walk of our apartment. One night around 10:30 after realizing that she was late getting home, I went to the balcony and looked across the park that separated our building and the plaza where she worked, at the same time hoping that she hadn’t taken that shortcut after dark.

I could see the beam of a flashlight bobbing around and watched as it came closer until I could distinguish that it was Barb, walking slightly behind a cop. I went downstairs to meet them and by the time I got there the cop had retreated back through the park. I could tell that Barb had ben crying, but at the same time she was smiling.

She explained – while she was preparing to go home, someone stole her wallet from her bag, which contained over $200.00 in cash. Although the money was significant to her, what really hurt was the fact that whoever had stolen from her had to have known her and was probably someone who she considered a friend.

Anyway, it was reported to the police and Ron showed up and decided to walk her through the park on the off chance that her wallet and ID may have been discarded by the thief. No such luck of course.

Barb expressed to me her sense of loss and betrayal at the time and how Ron, a stranger, had quickly renewed her faith in humanity and made her smile through her tears on a short walk through the park. Barb passed away in 2010. She never forgot that kindness, as she spoke of it often, and neither have I. I would like to express my condolences to Ron’s family and friends.

Looking forward to you fine people continuing his legacy,
Andrew (John) Rolfe
Cambridge, ON (formerly Badger, NL)