Community saying farewell to long-time dedicated volunteers

For Deacon John and Mary Vezina of Leamington, their time here has been some of the most rewarding of their lives. 

They raised their children in Leamington, participated in local sports and Cub Scouts and so many more organizations that have benefited from their incredible hearts and people-first personalities.

The couple has now sold their Leamington home and will be moving to the London area to continue their work with a new church community and — in the process — spend more time with their now-grown children.

Mary, originally from River Canard, met John Vezina when they both attended the St. Clair College Horticultural Program, from which they both graduated.

“It was a typical country girl meets city boy type of thing,” laughs Mary. 

“The moment our eyes locked, she was hooked,” joked John, displaying that sense of humour that has endeared them to so many people in this community.

John has been a Deacon with the Erie Shores South Catholic Family of Parishes for the past eight years, but their time in this area goes all the way back to their first home near Cedar Beach. After a couple of years there, they took jobs in the agricultural industry out near Surrey BC, where they stayed until 1996, returning to the area with the purchase of a home in Leamington, after attending a wedding here.

“We had no plan,” said John. “We just knew it was time to move back.”

The couple’s first three children were B.C.-born and their youngest daughter came along once they were back in Leamington.

“Leamington was such a nice place to settle,” says Mary. “We got to know people easily. It’s a very welcoming community.”

They still believe that Leamington is a great place to live and although they’ll miss it, they believe their life’s calling is to make a move.

Their faith has allowed them to get involved in the church and the community, and almost everyone involved with volunteerism and charity work will know who Deacon John is.

Mary often works behind the scenes, but is very active in the community as well.

“It was Father Pat Fuerth who asked me one day if I’d ever thought of becoming a Deacon,” says John. “As much as I wanted to get involved, the timing wasn’t right.”

“Two years later, things were different and he decided to apply,” said Mary.

After four years of study, which included 40 instructional weekends in London, Deacon John Vezina was ordained in November, 2013.

It’s been a whirlwind of service ever since and so many area charities and organizations have become familiar with the ‘Deacon John touch’.

Leamington Mayor Hilda MacDonald counts herself as one of those people who have been fortunate to be involved with Deacon John and his work.

“Although we already knew each other, it was primarily through the grass roots group that was formed by the faith community to talk about homelessness,” said Mayor MacDonald.  “He came and he never looked back.”

MacDonald says that Deacon John has a way of working with people to get donations and knock on the right doors.

“We always knew we could get anything funded with Deacon John on the committee,” she says. “He’s a really good human and we’re going to miss he and Mary both.”

John and Mary talked about getting a call one night during a particularly cold winter in COVID times where someone had hundreds of loaves of bread to donate to a good cause. He and Mary took the bread into their garage and spent every night distributing it to shelters, food pantries and other places in need. This is only one example of the work they do in this community.

And so, they will be missed by not only the Catholic and faith communities, but all of the community that has benefited from their giving nature.

Father Tom Ferrera, pastor at St. Michael’s Parish, says the church community will miss the Vezinas dearly.

“We’ll definitely miss John and Mary. They’ve become great friends and I’m always inspired by how their faith in God has blessed our church and the community where we live,” he said. “I’m amazed how Deacon John has impacted so many lives by his work at the hospital, hospice and working with the community to care for the homeless.”

“Mary has been involved in our parish with youth ministry and couples preparing for marriage throughout the years,” he added.

Colleague Deacon Deborah Wilson-Safa of St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church, shares those sentiments about the Vezinas.

“I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work alongside Deacon John for the betterment of our community,” she said. “John has been that faithful voice which calls out from the wilderness that we need and can do better as the church and the community.  We will miss John and Mary, but understand that the call of family and God cannot be ignored.  They will be a blessing to their new community.”

Reverend Ruth Boehm of Faith Mennonite Church also offered her perspective by saying, “John’s a man who focuses on what he can do, not what he can’t do. I’m going to really miss him as a colleague in this community.”

Salvation Army Leamington has also benefited from John and Mary’s friendship and hard work as they each volunteered their help in the newly built pavilion and prayer gardens there. Volunteer coordinator Veronica Costa, along with Majors Judi and Ron Wickens will all miss the Vezinas and their contributions.

“Deacon John is a community-minded, hardworking man of God,” they said. “He and Mary will be missed.”

For the Vezinas, having touched so many organizations in the community, they will miss all they’ve come in contact with.

“It’s going to be hard to leave the parish,” says John. “We’ve been blessed to be in this community.”

And the community is planning a big send-off for the couple on September 7 with a 5 pm Mass and a 6pm BBQ in their honour at the St. Michael’s Parish Hall.