Members of the Mount Pearl Seniors Independence Group recently gave Canadian Armed Forces veteran Wayne Conners a gift he will cherish forever, a Quilt of Valour to honour his service to Canada. From left to right are Agnes Murphy, Dee Lavandier, Wayne Connors, Sandra Seymour, Diane Power and Ruth Patten. Chad Feehan photo
By Chad Feehan / Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A quilt represents warmth, tenderness, and often the love imbued by its creator. But sometimes, somehow, it can mean even more.
Mount Pearl resident and military veteran Wayne Connors received a quilt earlier this month on behalf of the Quilts of Valour Foundation, as stitched by a group of women from the Mount Pearl Seniors Independence Group.
The Quilts of Valour Canada Society was formed in 2006 by Edmonton quilter Lezley Swaal who wanted to give Canadian Armed Forces members a little bit of comfort after receiving injuries in Afghanistan.
Since then, over 20,000 veterans have received quilts of their own as a result of the foundation's volunteer work.
Connors spent 11 years with the Canadian Armed Forces from 1965 to 1976, first with the Black Watch Royal Highland Regiment, before serving the remainder of his time with the Royal Canadian Regiment of Canada after the former's disbandment. He completed two tours of peacekeeping missions in Cyprus, was stationed in Quebec during the October Crisis, and engaged in various training missions and other military responsibilities.
“It was an exciting time, every day was different,” Conners said. “Eleven years went pretty fast; I loved my time in the service.”
Upon receiving his quilt, Conners admitted to feeling a sense of pride for his service that he’d never really thought about before. Being honored in this way, he admitted, was one of the highlights of his life.
“That was really something special,” he said. “Those wonderful, beautiful ladies, to do that work.”
Although the quilt was stitched by members of the Mount Pearl Seniors Independence Group, it was presented to Conners by Maj. Lisa Compton, a retired military nurse who served in six deployments to Afghanistan.
“These quilts are packed up with so much feeling and love before it even gets to you,” Compton said during the ceremony. “It’s important for us at Quilts of Valour to recognize all of that service and sacrifice that you’ve given.”
Also a veteran, Conners’ father-in-law Joseph Lajoie lives in a veterans centre in Saint John, New Brunswick having served in the Ordnance Corps in the 1950’s.
Upon learning Conners has family ties to an aging veteran, Compton said she’d make sure he gets a quilt of his own too.
Compton recently gave quilts to 10 residents of the Caribou Memorial Veterans Pavilion, and will be giving out many more as veterans return home to pay respects to the Unknown Solider later this summer.
“We’re going to be busy as bees giving out quilts during that time,” she said.
Conners’ quilt is being stored in a special bag in his home in Mount Pearl. If it wasn’t for his mischievous cat, it may have been displayed across his bed. He plans to eventually bequeath the quilt to his daughter Anne Whitten or his son Martin Connors down the road. “These quilts are famous,” Connors said. “All quilts are famous because they’re made with love.”
