Here is a summary of the seniors profiles I did this year:
Frank and Aline Pighincelebrated their 70th wedding anniversary in June.
Frank (Ennio Enore Lanfranco) Pighin was born in Udine, Italy in 1928 and Aline
Cecile Marie Theresa Houle was born in 1930 in Prud’homme, Sask. Her father Joe Houle was the town electrician.
They got married and moved to Prince George; Frank worked as an electrician in the family business of Houle Electric. By 1967, he was the manager and in 1984 became a shareholder of the company until he retired at the age of 66.
Aline raised their eight children and worked as the secretary for the company until she retired at the age of 60.
Darrell and Diane Hubbell: Darrell was born in Invermere and grew up in Cassiar. His passion for making jewelry developed when the family moved to Woodpecker (near Hixon) and opened a rock shop. In 1984, he opened his own jewelry store and 36 years later he is still designing unique jewelry. In 1996, he married Diane Parent. Diane was born in the old Prince George army hospital. She worked as a substitute teacher and then at AiMHi until Darrell persuaded her to partner with him in their jewelry store. Darrell’s volunteerism is extensive; he was named the Prince George Citizen of the Year in 2011.
Clasina (Nederpel) Van Adrichem,was born in Den Haag, Holland in 1928. She met her husband Mike through family members in 1950. They immigrated to Canada in 1952 and were married upon arrival. In the early 60s, they moved to Prince George where Mike worked for the Federal Department of Agriculture at the Experimental Farm and retired in 1978. Next, he worked as the superintendent for Catholic Independent Schools and retired again in 1988. He passed away in 2014. Clasina has been a 62-year member of the Catholic Women’s League. At the age of 85 and after 30 years of volunteering in catering at the Sacred Heart Cathedral she decided it was time to retire and left the task of catering to a younger pair of old legs.
Gary and May Parrish:Gary was born in 1942 and May (Taylor) was born in 1943. Gary bought two trucks, formed his own company, did contract work for 20 years and then sold the company. Life was good when suddenly Gary suffered a stroke in 2013; he is still in recovery. Since then Mary runs the snow blower and Gary manages the snow removal process from his chair. He is the coach and keeps all the equipment in good running condition while their faithful companion Daisy sits and keeps guard over both of them.
Sylvia (nee Allen) Cooneyturned 93 in July. She was born in Edmonton in 1927 and has lived in Prince George for 60 years. She has given back to her community many times over. When Sylvia was 56, she applied for a job at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and worked as a teller for the next 19 years. She retired at the age of 75.
Ken and Joanne Sales:Ken was born in the old Prince George army hospital in 1947 while Joanne (Kirby) was born in Alberta in 1945. Ken first worked for his father at Rush Coal and then in 1965 started at Canada Post working as a mail carrier until he retired after 36 years of service. At the age of 65 and due to health issues, he had to sell his home and move into an apartment. This was a mixed blessing because at that late age he met and eventually married Joanne. Soon her apartment went up for rent.
