(Tony Wright, son-in-law Mark Ward, friends and Rotary Club of Ottawa-Stittsville members were in attendance on July 15, 2024 to pay tribute to Valerie Wright with a commemorative brick installation at the W.J. Bell Rotary Peace Park.)
Valerie Wright who sadly passed away on September 10, 2023, was involved in many projects in Stittsville and one particular project was close to her heart. As a member of our local Rotary Club, in 2015 Valerie was the inspiration, along with Theresa Qadri, to create and design a labyrinth for Stittsville. She had seen many in the UK and in BC and wanted residents here to experience the same positivity and calmness that a labyrinth would add to people’s hectic lives. The Stittsville Rotary Club took on the project and thanks to Valerie, the labyrinth at the W.J. Bell Rotary Peace Park officially opened on October 8, 2015. Valerie would be pleased to see that the Rotary Club have enhanced the beauty of the park with Hosta gardens and the introduction of a pollinator garden.
Valerie was also instrumental in introducing the Rotary Club’s fall and winter international film series screenings at Landmark Cinemas with the monies raised going to several Rotary projects.
Prior to her retirement, Valerie had been a devoted teacher and elementary principal with the Ottawa-Carleton Board of Education for 28 years. After retirement, she and her husband, Tony, had moved to British Columbia for a short time, but Stittsville and their many friends were beckoning them to come home again.
On July 15th, Tony Wright, son-in-law Mark Ward, friends and former Rotarians gathered together to share their memories of Valerie – Grace Bell, Carolyn Clark, Rosemary Brummell, Brad Spriggs and Edna Marlow. In Edna’s tribute, she outlined her work with Valerie for the Veterans’ Memorial Plaque at the Johnny Leroux Community Centre.
Long-time friends Leslie Hossack, Nancy Prescott, Rosanne Way, Edna Marlow and Lesley McKay, joined husband Tony Wright, son-in-law Mark Ward, and Rotary Club members to pay tribute to Valerie by viewing the installation of a commemorative brick along the pathway to the labyrinth.
Valerie and Tony enjoyed spending many hours at the W.J. Bell Rotary Peace Park. Dave Rooke and Charles Mossman told the attendees that “thanks to Valerie and Tony’s generosity, ongoing enhancement of the park, maintenance of the labyrinth and, in 2021, an accessible picnic table was placed by the park’s entrance to be enjoyed by everyone visiting the park.” A brick displays their names beside the picnic table.
Valerie’s vision to have a labyrinth in our community and specifically at the W.J. Bell Rotary Peace Park is a testament to her caring nature and the need for a space to experience the same positivity and calmness that she always portrayed. The brick along the pathway is a lasting memory and fitting tribute to Valerie.
It was a lovely ceremony, happy to be part of it along with Tony Wright and ~Valerie~ Mark Ward and the Rotarians.
With hugs to all.