Passing away: Jackie Unitt, Donald Secord

What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?
~Vincent van Gogh

Two of our staff at the EcoWellness Centre experienced the death of a parent recently. Christie Unitt, longtime board member and active friend of the Centre, lost her mother, Jackie, at the end of July. And Karen Secord, another ‘extended family’ member at Carp Ridge and our project/marketing manager, suffered the loss of her father, Donald, on August 21st.

Karen, who makes her living as a writer, composed her Dad’s obituary and wrote the following:

“Don Secord had courage. He lived life large, cautious and extravagant at the same time. He had the analytical intellect of an accountant but the spirit of a seeker, a wanderer in search of adventure and new challenges. Don celebrated who he was and cherished those he loved. In so many ways he made dreams come true.”

Mr. Secord worked as a computer programmer & analyst, a management consultant and CEO — in both the public and private sectors.

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Christie Unitt said that her Mom was “one of those people who was always young at heart”.

Jackie worked as a teacher and researcher for many years before retiring. After that she continued to be active in the community and took on projects both personal and public.

Up until fairly recently she helped maintain a website that offered resources and encouragement to men going through separation and divorce. Often she became a friend to those who were in desperate need of a non-judgemental and supportive listener.

In a testimonial about a personal development teacher she had worked with Jackie said, “It is amazing that someone like me who is past 70 years of age can still make such a dramatic change in their lives.”

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Thou know’st ’tis common; all that lives must die,
Passing through nature, to eternity.
~William Shakespeare, from Hamlet