Lorne Thurston - A Centenarian

By Robin Van Der Vleuten

Centenarian Lorne Thurston turned 102 years old on Canada Day, 2024. Born in Stoughton, Saskatchewan, the only son among four older daughters

He recollects his love for structures at a young age, "I would climb up our windmill so I could see the train coming down the track from Virginia to Stoughton. My sisters would say, 'Come on down!' And I would laugh and say, 'Come up and get me!'".

When he was eight years old, his family moved to Tracy's Hill, Raeboro, Ontario and bought a farm, growing feed for cattle and horses. Lorne worked with his dad on this farm until he met and married his wife, Lenore.

Lorne got a job in Victoria County as a bridge foreman. His job entailed assessing and completing the work on the wooden bridges in the area, sometimes taking a week or two to fix the bridges and seal and paint the wood.

"We had these old wooden bridges, built with logs and boards across them, which were starting to fall apart. Water would be almost a foot from the timbers, so we put on our bathing suits and got in the water to paint them. If we could not get under a bridge, we took boards off the top, closed the road, and did the repairs. I remember we put a whole new floor on the Lindsay Street bridge while keeping the traffic going." He explained.

Lorne briefly switched careers a few years later when his wife wanted to open a grocery store near Sunderland. He remembers only making $14, with a dollar profit the first day. He was bothered knowing they could never live on that.

"That night, I got up at 4:30 a.m., had a cup of tea and looked out the window at the bakery across the road. People were going in and out of there on their way to work. I knew then I had to open our store at that time as well." he said.

Even though their store continued to be busy, getting up early with two young children was hard, and Lorne missed working with his hands. When a couple offered to buy the store, Lorne was ecstatic. At about the same time, a man came by asking Lorne if he did carpentry work. His uncle had left him a house down the street with a hole in the roof, which needed repair before he could sell it.

"I told him how much it would be to fix it, and he agreed to have the job done. I then offered him a price for the house, and he laughed, sealing the deal and stating that he did not have to pay for the repair."

Years later, Lorne and his family moved to Brampton, where he inspected roofs on newly constructed homes. During this time, he noticed houses were not being properly inspected.

"I had to go right to the top. I went to Ottawa to speak with Trudeau's Cabinet about a proposal to change the building code regarding roof structures. I mentioned a few things I would change."

Ultimately, he helped them create a building code proposal, which was adopted and put into law.

Feeling like he had accomplished a lot, Lorne and his wife decided to move back to Lindsay, feeling the need to go home. Lorne and Lenore became active in the community. Lorne started the Sunderland Music Festival.

Even at 102 years old, Lorne is still active. At Lakeland Villa, he is the executive on the Resident's council. Lorne plays Bingo, Euchre and even Shuffleboard. Lorne recently won their Shuffleboard tournament, blowing away the highest score ever.