Skip to content

Lougheed Sr. quietly lived to serve

Greater Sudbury is a little less great today than it was before the evening of Dec. 16. This city has lost one of its best citizens.
Greater Sudbury is a little less great today than it was before the evening of Dec. 16.

This city has lost one of its best citizens.

A man who embodied qualities many strive to attain and to which many more pay mere lip service: honesty and integrity, compassion and thoughtfulness, strength and empathy.

To dedicate one’s life to the service of others as Gerald Malcolm Lougheed Sr. did, is perhaps, the pinnacle of what it means to be human.

He was an innovator, a man willing to help Sudburians of all stripes, a teacher, a father, a man who left a large footprint on this city.

Ironically, as large as that footprint is, many of those who knew him told Northern Life how he shied away from the spotlight, eschewing praise. For a man who left such a large footprint, he did much of his work on tiptoes.

As an innovator, he was the first ambulance service provider in Ontario to carry oxygen in his vehicles. He insisted that ambulance drivers were not simply taxi drivers for the sick and injured, that they should have first-aid training, that they should bring with them knowledge as well as bandages.

In the funeral home business, he was the first in North America to serve coffee to grieving families.

He seemed to understand that funeral homes are not really in the business of selling caskets; they are in the business of transition, helping families move from one state of existence to another and coffee, as a lubricant for conversation, encourages families to grieve together, to help each other through that evolution.

In taking time out of his schedule — and a busy schedule it was — to visit the families of the recently deceased, he demonstrated an uncommon level of caring.

And while he did much charity work in the background, Lougheed Sr. was also an active Rotarian who worked tirelessly through the club for the betterment of the community.

Whether it was working on behalf of children in India or children at home (or on behalf of any of the innumerable good works the club involved itself in over the years), Northern Life was told time and again how he really did embody the Rotary Club motto of “service above self.”

Lougheed Sr. was a man who, when he saw a need, would move to fill it, not simply point it out or whine of its existence. That he did so without thought of thanks or praise or accolades is really a testament to his personality and courage of conviction.

Whether it was quietly picking up the tab for someone who could use the help, opening his home to those who had no where else to go for Christmas dinner or pioneering support for Sudburians with disabilities through Easter Seals, he was a man who constantly looked to improve everyone’s lot in life.

When it comes to children, Lougheed Sr. was very much a family man, and he imparted in his sons many of those lessons.

Their charitable efforts and community-mindedness show that they indeed took his example — and he was very much a man who led by example, not by demand — to heart.

Many Sudburians are all the better for those lessons learned at his knee.

The city may have lost one of its bright lights this week, but comfort can be taken in the fact that, though he may be gone, Lougheed Sr.’s good works will live on after him.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “to know even one life has breathed easier because you lived. This is to have succeeded.”
And Gerald Malcolm Lougheed Sr., teacher, philanthropist and friend to Greater Sudbury, very much succeeded.Greater Sudbury is a little less great today than it was before the evening of Dec. 16.

This city has lost one of its best citizens.

A man who embodied qualities many strive to attain and to which many more pay mere lip service: honesty and integrity, compassion and thoughtfulness, strength and empathy.

To dedicate one’s life to the service of others as Gerald Malcolm Lougheed Sr. did, is perhaps, the pinnacle of what it means to be human.

He was an innovator, a man willing to help Sudburians of all stripes, a teacher, a father, a man who left a large footprint on this city.

Ironically, as large as that footprint is, many of those who knew him told Northern Life how he shied away from the spotlight, eschewing praise. For a man who left such a large footprint, he did much of his work on tiptoes.

As an innovator, he was the first ambulance service provider in Ontario to carry oxygen in his vehicles. He insisted that ambulance drivers were not simply taxi drivers for the sick and injured, that they should have first-aid training, that they should bring with them knowledge as well as bandages.

In the funeral home business, he was the first in North America to serve coffee to grieving families.

He seemed to understand that funeral homes are not really in the business of selling caskets; they are in the business of transition, helping families move from one state of existence to another and coffee, as a lubricant for conversation, encourages families to grieve together, to help each other through that evolution.

In taking time out of his schedule — and a busy schedule it was — to visit the families of the recently deceased, he demonstrated an uncommon level of caring.

And while he did much charity work in the background, Lougheed Sr. was also an active Rotarian who worked tirelessly through the club for the betterment of the community.

Whether it was working on behalf of children in India or children at home (or on behalf of any of the innumerable good works the club involved itself in over the years), Northern Life was told time and again how he really did embody the Rotary Club motto of “service above self.”

Lougheed Sr. was a man who, when he saw a need, would move to fill it, not simply point it out or whine of its existence. That he did so without thought of thanks or praise or accolades is really a testament to his personality and courage of conviction.

Whether it was quietly picking up the tab for someone who could use the help, opening his home to those who had no where else to go for Christmas dinner or pioneering support for Sudburians with disabilities through Easter Seals, he was a man who constantly looked to improve everyone’s lot in life.

When it comes to children, Lougheed Sr. was very much a family man, and he imparted in his sons many of those lessons.

Their charitable efforts and community-mindedness show that they indeed took his example — and he was very much a man who led by example, not by demand — to heart.

Many Sudburians are all the better for those lessons learned at his knee.

The city may have lost one of its bright lights this week, but comfort can be taken in the fact that, though he may be gone, Lougheed Sr.’s good works will live on after him.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “to know even one life has breathed easier because you lived. This is to have succeeded.”
And Gerald Malcolm Lougheed Sr., teacher, philanthropist and friend to Greater Sudbury, very much succeeded.Greater Sudbury is a little less great today than it was before the evening of Dec. 16.

This city has lost one of its best citizens.

A man who embodied qualities many strive to attain and to which many more pay mere lip service: honesty and integrity, compassion and thoughtfulness, strength and empathy.

To dedicate one’s life to the service of others as Gerald Malcolm Lougheed Sr. did, is perhaps, the pinnacle of what it means to be human.

He was an innovator, a man willing to help Sudburians of all stripes, a teacher, a father, a man who left a large footprint on this city.

Ironically, as large as that footprint is, many of those who knew him told Northern Life how he shied away from the spotlight, eschewing praise. For a man who left such a large footprint, he did much of his work on tiptoes.

As an innovator, he was the first ambulance service provider in Ontario to carry oxygen in his vehicles. He insisted that ambulance drivers were not simply taxi drivers for the sick and injured, that they should have first-aid training, that they should bring with them knowledge as well as bandages.

In the funeral home business, he was the first in North America to serve coffee to grieving families.

He seemed to understand that funeral homes are not really in the business of selling caskets; they are in the business of transition, helping families move from one state of existence to another and coffee, as a lubricant for conversation, encourages families to grieve together, to help each other through that evolution.

In taking time out of his schedule — and a busy schedule it was — to visit the families of the recently deceased, he demonstrated an uncommon level of caring.

And while he did much charity work in the background, Lougheed Sr. was also an active Rotarian who worked tirelessly through the club for the betterment of the community.

Whether it was working on behalf of children in India or children at home (or on behalf of any of the innumerable good works the club involved itself in over the years), Northern Life was told time and again how he really did embody the Rotary Club motto of “service above self.”

Lougheed Sr. was a man who, when he saw a need, would move to fill it, not simply point it out or whine of its existence. That he did so without thought of thanks or praise or accolades is really a testament to his personality and courage of conviction.

Whether it was quietly picking up the tab for someone who could use the help, opening his home to those who had no where else to go for Christmas dinner or pioneering support for Sudburians with disabilities through Easter Seals, he was a man who constantly looked to improve everyone’s lot in life.

When it comes to children, Lougheed Sr. was very much a family man, and he imparted in his sons many of those lessons.

Their charitable efforts and community-mindedness show that they indeed took his example — and he was very much a man who led by example, not by demand — to heart.

Many Sudburians are all the better for those lessons learned at his knee.

The city may have lost one of its bright lights this week, but comfort can be taken in the fact that, though he may be gone, Lougheed Sr.’s good works will live on after him.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “to know even one life has breathed easier because you lived. This is to have succeeded.”
And Gerald Malcolm Lougheed Sr., teacher, philanthropist and friend to Greater Sudbury, very much succeeded.Greater Sudbury is a little less great today than it was before the evening of Dec. 16.

This city has lost one of its best citizens.

A man who embodied qualities many strive to attain and to which many more pay mere lip service: honesty and integrity, compassion and thoughtfulness, strength and empathy.

To dedicate one’s life to the service of others as Gerald Malcolm Lougheed Sr. did, is perhaps, the pinnacle of what it means to be human.

He was an innovator, a man willing to help Sudburians of all stripes, a teacher, a father, a man who left a large footprint on this city.

Ironically, as large as that footprint is, many of those who knew him told Northern Life how he shied away from the spotlight, eschewing praise. For a man who left such a large footprint, he did much of his work on tiptoes.

As an innovator, he was the first ambulance service provider in Ontario to carry oxygen in his vehicles. He insisted that ambulance drivers were not simply taxi drivers for the sick and injured, that they should have first-aid training, that they should bring with them knowledge as well as bandages.

In the funeral home business, he was the first in North America to serve coffee to grieving families.

He seemed to understand that funeral homes are not really in the business of selling caskets; they are in the business of transition, helping families move from one state of existence to another and coffee, as a lubricant for conversation, encourages families to grieve together, to help each other through that evolution.

In taking time out of his schedule — and a busy schedule it was — to visit the families of the recently deceased, he demonstrated an uncommon level of caring.

And while he did much charity work in the background, Lougheed Sr. was also an active Rotarian who worked tirelessly through the club for the betterment of the community.

Whether it was working on behalf of children in India or children at home (or on behalf of any of the innumerable good works the club involved itself in over the years), Northern Life was told time and again how he really did embody the Rotary Club motto of “service above self.”

Lougheed Sr. was a man who, when he saw a need, would move to fill it, not simply point it out or whine of its existence. That he did so without thought of thanks or praise or accolades is really a testament to his personality and courage of conviction.

Whether it was quietly picking up the tab for someone who could use the help, opening his home to those who had no where else to go for Christmas dinner or pioneering support for Sudburians with disabilities through Easter Seals, he was a man who constantly looked to improve everyone’s lot in life.

When it comes to children, Lougheed Sr. was very much a family man, and he imparted in his sons many of those lessons.

Their charitable efforts and community-mindedness show that they indeed took his example — and he was very much a man who led by example, not by demand — to heart.

Many Sudburians are all the better for those lessons learned at his knee.

The city may have lost one of its bright lights this week, but comfort can be taken in the fact that, though he may be gone, Lougheed Sr.’s good works will live on after him.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “to know even one life has breathed easier because you lived. This is to have succeeded.”
And Gerald Malcolm Lougheed Sr., teacher, philanthropist and friend to Greater Sudbury, very much succeeded.

Comments

Verified reader

If you would like to apply to become a verified commenter, please fill out this form.