Tonight I took a break from the campaign trail to attend a memorial ceremony on Heuvelman road for Brad Rivington, Chris Sabean and Ginny Marko.
Sunday September 20, 2009 is a day that will never forget. I was awaken by a phone call from my sister, Candace, who was in near hysterics as she relayed the awful news of a car accident that took place the night before in Navan. The crash claimed the lives of Ginny Marko - a grade 12 student at Sir Wilfrid Laurier, and Candace's two very close friends, Brad and Chris - who had just graduated from Cairine Wilson in June.
I have known the Rivington's for many years as Brad's two older brothers (Steve and Chris) were friends of mine from high school. Steve and Chris are two of the nicest people one could ever hope to meet - the type of people who would literally give you the shirt off their back. The same is said about Chris Sabean's two older brothers, Alex and Justin.
I've lived my whole life in Orleans and have never seen anything like the outpour of support from our community in the days that followed the accident. I waited in line for hours with thousands of other people to attend Brad and Chris' wake. I packed the Orleans United Church with what seemed like all of Sir Wilfrid Laurier and half of Orleans for Ginny Marko's funeral. Everywhere you went, people were talking about the accident. Everywhere you went, people were grieving.
There were several hundred people at tonight's ceremony. Many had not seen each other since this time last year. This evening's gathering served as a reminder to all those who attended that life is too short and often not fair. It's in the love we have for family and friends that we find strength to keep going.
Rest in Peace Brad, Chris and Ginny
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