TEACHER REMEMBERED WITH FONDNESS BY STUDENTS
On Jan. 8, Alex Gilchrist passed away at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital. We express our condolences to his family and wish to recognize the positive impact that Alex had on our lives.
It has been said that “Life is like a journey on a train — with its stations — with changes of routes — and accidents! At birth, we board the train and meet our parents, who we believe will always travel by our side. As time passes, other people will board the train and some of them will have significant impacts on our lives. Our siblings, extended family, friends and partner. At some stations, passengers, like our parents, will step down from their seat on the train and leave a physical vacuum. But we still have the memories.
Alex boarded the train on Dec. 17, 1933 in Saskatoon and in 1957 it arrived in North Sydney where he began his career as a teacher and principal of Thompson High School. In addition to being a great teacher, he was supportive of the school’s sports teams and specifically the curling team. With respect to the latter, he served as the team manager (arranging all travel, accommodations, etc.), mentor (chaperone) and assistant coach
During that time, Alex emphasized the importance of “having good relationships with all those passengers on the train” and above all “having respect and trust for others and one another.” In that regard, success required that we give the best of ourselves.
The friendship with Alex did not end when we graduated from school. For 63 years, Alex continued to form and maintain friendship relationships with Thompson High School student alumni and on the 50th anniversary of the schools opening (1999), he organized a major student reunion in North Sydney. Also, he and his wife Marilyn frequently attended regional alumni reunions in Bedford each year.
Alex stepped down from his seat on the train last week, but we still have the wonderful memories that will not be forgotten.
Thank you for being there for us.
Les Hare, Bill Youden, George Rowe and Allen Kenney, Thompson High School Curling Team