Here at the Y, we’re very grateful to the family of Don and Mary Hislop, who donated a sizable gift to provide financial assistance for memberships, camps and programming at the Sarnia-Lambton YMCA Jerry McCaw Family Centre.
Today, we’re pleased to share a little bit about this wonderful couple – former Y members who dedicated their lives to their family and community.
Family was the top priority for Mary and Don, who moved to Sarnia in 1950. Both were enthusiastic participants (and sometimes coaches) in their kids’ and grandkids’ lives.
Although the family travelled all over North America for music, hockey and baseball, the couple’s heart was always with their Sarnia community, where they volunteered and participated with many organizations.
As longtime Y members who used the fitness facilities at the Jerry McCaw Family Centre until they were well into their 80s, both Don and Mary believed in the benefits of fitness and physical activity. They loved the outdoors and were instrumental in establishing a minor baseball/softball organization in Blackwell, which included building a diamond from scratch on a former sugar-beet-loading property.
For years they advocated and lobbied for a plan to convert the former CNR track into a walking trail from central Sarnia to the Clearwater (now Sarnia) boundary with Plympton Township. The result of their efforts is the well-loved Howard Watson Trail.
Don and Mary were community builders. They felt strongly about helping kids in the community whose families could not afford things like swimming lessons and summer camps. And they were passionate about helping the Jerry McCaw Family Centre and its financial assistance program.
Thanks to their family’s generous gift, their work lives on to this day.