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While the untimely deaths of his son Douglas and daughter Cheryl, and In his youth, He was a good hockey player and an excellent swimmer. After moving to town, he joined the Stouffville Kinsmen Club. Gerry and hrs yellow dump truck, bearing the name ‘Miss Debrah', Were common sights in and around Stouffvrlle. Later, he served as dispatcher With the firms of Lee Sand 8: Grave], Pit Haulage and C 8: C Haulage. He remed in 1999. Following their mamas: m 1956, he and his wife Jean came to Stouffvillc. They had two sons, Douglas and Tim, and two daughtcrs, Cheryl and chrah‘ Cheryl died in 1958 and Douglas tn 1967 chrah (Mrs. Bill Graham), resides near Whitby. Tun and Dcmsc live at lnmshl, near Barrie. There are four grandchfldrcn, Paige and Danny Graham, and Mitchell and Connor Foley Free Press ML Foley died following a courageous 20-year battle with cancer. He was 73. Born at New Liskeard, Ont, he moved to Toronto with his mother, his stepfather and two stepbrothers at age 10. He attended Kew Beach Public School and Agincourt High. Stouffvillc United Church pastor Vicki Cousins conducted the scrvicc from the O’Neill Funeral Home, Nov. 2, celebrating the life of Gerald ‘Ccrry’ Foley, following his passing Oct. 28 m Markham Stouffville Hospital, So, once Christmas does roll around we still seem to concentrate on the gift part of the season and when we find ourselves unwrapping presents under the tree Christmas morning, the excitement and the appreciation is non-existent. Kids, especially, have These days it seems to me the gift part of Christmas happens a lot more than once a year. Most of us don't have to wait to receive that special gift or cook a nice large meal. We have our own excess money with which we buy the best food or the newest electronic toy at any time during the year. People have become used to having immediate acceSs to everything. It doesn’t matter if it's June or December. Why wait for Christmas? In the book ‘Merry UnChristmas", by Mike Reiss, in which people celebrate Christmas 364 days a year in Christmas City, a little girl called Noelle opens her presents on Christmas morning. Receiving a new doll, dollhouse, ice skates, roller skates, a computer and a bike and oh yes, a pony, she says, "Gee thanks," with a yawn and then puts her gifts away with all her previous bikes and ponies in her back yard. Sound familiar? Merry UnChristmas By Anne Houle Anne Houle is coâ€"ordinator of children and youth services at Whirchurch- Stouffw'lle Library. Perhaps if we shifted our? focus away from the gifts at Christmas we, too, would appreciate the ordinary, humdrum special gifts that we encounter every day. But every year I, like everyone else, buy too many gifts for my loved ones in the name of Christmas. This year, however, 1 think we all need to take a moment or two to appreciate what we already have in life and stop, look and notice the twinkling stars. She apprecrates more the one day of the year when it's not Christmas, when she can eat regular dinners, watch shows like Oprah instead of the Grinch, enjoy the extra space in her house without a tree in the living room, go to school and look forward to the arrival of the mailman, who can only bring bills instead of Christmas cards on the one non-Christmas day. Even the de-lighting of the Christmas tree downtown is cause for celebration as it becomes so dark that people can see and ap reciate the many twinkling stars in the sky. so much these days that the thought and effort of that special gift at Christmas doesn't mean much. Just like Noelle in the story, it's ho hum, not too special. 'He loved feelmg part of our famfly,’ Debrah said. The O'Neil] chapel was filled for the service and the floral tributes were beautiful. Interment was made at Stouffville Cemetery. Cerry was firm dragnosed wrth cancer m 1987. Followmg surgery, the disease returned and steadrly worsened. While on expenmenta] drugs, he lived with daughter Debrah and son-in-law Bill, then returned home to Stouffville. - Christmas get-togethers, family prcnrcs, ball games, barbecues and cottage holidays. She described the close connectron her father had wrth neighbours on Fairview Avenue, Stouffville, including Dave Parcels and Denny Patnck. She also mentioned specifically mete Carol Heston who often made suppers for her father. During the gbd times and the sad times, they were always there for her dad. she later his wife, Jean, were devastating, daughtet chrah and son Tim helped bridge thus gap. 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Choose from our Lemon Squares, Hanaimo Bars or Cranberry Pecan Bars. It's a hard choice... you might need to take all three. Come In and see the store ready for the holidays. mste some of our Christmas baking. Open House runs Friday, November :50 1:00pm till close and Saturday, December 15! all day. 905-640-2270 www.mesorfa rm kitchen.com Squares, Squares, Squares IOO RINGWOOD DR.#2I, STOUFFVILLE Open House Hours: t-Fri 9-5:30 ip.m., Clos‘ Dedicated to maintaining a thriving prosperous Stouffville Dccembcr 2007 ' 19