On Nov. 11, 1999 an elderly man walked into the Birthplace of B.C. Gallery gallery with a bee in his bonnet.
Gord Gillard was looking for mayoral hopeful Kurt Alberts, who at the time was at the Aldergrove Legion, attending the Remembrance Day service.
Kurt鈥檚 wife, Brenda, was at the gallery, and their chance meeting was the genesis of something remarkable 鈥� and enduring.
Brenda and Gord are no longer with us.
But their legacy is undeniable.
On June 11, 2014, Gord passed away at age 90 following a valiant attempt to recover from surgery.
Brenda lost her short battle with pancreatic cancer this past summer. She passed away peacefully July 25 at Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre.
What Gord and Brenda didn鈥檛 know, on that biting cold day 17 years ago, was they would help bring Remembrance Day services back to Fort 91原创.
And oh, how it鈥檚 grown.
Thousands expected
Friday鈥檚 Fort 91原创 Remembrance Day ceremony at the Fort cenotaph is expected to draw thousands.
鈥淗e was very, very proud of what happened,鈥� said Gord鈥檚 wife of 62 years, Eileen. 鈥淓ach year more people arrived. That was one of his best accomplishments, he felt, in his lifetime.鈥�
Kurt, meanwhile, realizes this Remembrance Day, without Brenda, will fill him with emotion.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 think of anything that would be more, in a way, heart wrenching, but also in many respects it will be a great, great tribute to Brenda, especially this year,鈥� Kurt said.
This groundswell of support for the Fort 91原创 service came from humble beginnings.
The morning they met, a sharply-dressed Gord complained to Brenda that there was no Remembrance Day service at the cenotaph in the cemetery, across the road from the gallery.
鈥淗e pointed across the road and said, 鈥楾here鈥檚 nothing happening there,鈥欌�� Kurt related. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no service. There鈥檚 a cenotaph, a veterans鈥� cemetery, but there鈥檚 no service.鈥�
Brenda told him that there would be no use complaining to her husband as he had not yet been elected (he won the mayor鈥檚 seat later that month), and that even if Kurt was the mayor, Remembrance Day is not a municipal affair, it should be put on by the community.
It was almost 11 o鈥檆lock, so Brenda said 鈥渨ait a minute鈥� and went upstairs.
She returned with her coat and her father鈥檚 Bible which he had with him during his service in the navy.
Gord then introduced himself as a Second World War veteran 鈥� he joined the Navy at age 16, and spent the bulk of his nine years with the service on a destroyer in the Atlantic transporting troops and equipment.
Together, they walked to the cenotaph and held their own improvised service.
They talked about the importance of the community鈥檚 historic cenotaph and the veterans鈥� section of the cemetery.
That鈥檚 when Brenda made a commitment to Gord. She assured him that next year there would be a real service.
And there was, with a reverend, hymns, a program and a couple dozen people joining in.
Each year, it grew, and grew, and grew, with the Fraser Blues doing a flypast.
Then, in 2011. Brenda championed the Rally Round the Flag Pole fundraiser to install a flag pole near the cenotaph.
The same year she invited the Kwantlen First Nation to be a formal part of the service.
鈥淏renda was really in her element,鈥� Kurt said, regarding his wife鈥檚 efforts towards Remembrance Day in Fort 91原创. 鈥淪he worked so hard in terms of getting everything ready. Her heart was so much in it.鈥�
Gord attended each year until his death two years ago.
Kurt said Gord was Brenda鈥檚 鈥渋nspiration.鈥�
鈥楽he Flew The Flag鈥�
Gord鈥檚 and Brenda鈥檚 grave sites are near each other at Fort 91原创 Cemetery.
Brenda鈥檚 is next to her daughter, Stacey Ann鈥檚, gravesite, and is the closest to the flag pole, which some refer to as 鈥淏renda鈥檚 flagpole.鈥�
And before this year鈥檚 Remembrance Day service, a granite bench given by an anonymous donor will be installed under a holly tree just a few steps from Brenda鈥檚 gravesite and the flag pole, with the inscription 鈥淏renda Alberts, She Flew the Flag!鈥�
Kurt said it鈥檚 an apt inscription.
Brenda enthusiastically flew the flag for many causes, and sports teams.
鈥淪he was the ultimate cheerleader,鈥� Kurt said. 鈥淪he rallied the community for her favourite causes.鈥�
Gord is buried nearby in the veterans鈥� section of the cemetery.
