The Riverview Home Corporation honoured late board member Gary Tonks Thursday when a plaque bearing his name was unveiled in his honour.
Tonks, an ordained reverend and major in the Canadian Armed Forces, served on Riverview’s Board of Directors from December 2014 until he passed away in July last year.
“We were married for 53 years and there’s a lot of favourite memories and not just one,” said his widow Norma, who attended the ceremony with their daughter Wanda.
Before he joined Riverview as a volunteer, Tonks served in the military from 1974 to 1996, starting his career in Halifax. He then served several years at sea, before working in an alcohol and drug counselling clinic followed by a stint as a base chaplain at Borden, Ontario.
Tonks also worked as a base chaplain in Winnipeg and was promoted to major at this time. After relocating to Ottawa, he served two tours in the Middle East.
During one patrol on the volatile Israel-Syria border, he was almost shot by a young Syrian soldier who had never before seen the white-painted United Nations vehicles or the blue berets of its peacekeepers.
Back in home, he took two more postings in Alert, Nunavut, and the Haida Gwaii/Queen Charlotte Islands.
After finishing his time in the military, the Tonks family moved back home to Pictou County in 1996.
It was then he started his roughly 20-year career as a volunteer at Riverview, where he headed its volunteer committee, raising funds and taking residents on day trips among his other achievements.
As board chair, he was instrumental in bringing residents IPads and training them on their use, allowing them to explore the world through the Internet.
Riverview’s CEO Patricia Bland said that Tonks’ military and church experience was invaluable during his time as a volunteer.
“I think he was a voice of wisdom for the board. He had so much experience in other areas of life,” said Bland.
The Riverview Home Corporation offers both assisted living and community services for people with brain injuries, physical and/or mental disabilities, and long-term mental illnesses.
