Pathstone was focus for Maurice Gomme
Maurice Gomme was the kind of man who never really retired, “he just went from working for money to working for no money.”
That’s what his wife, Marilyn, said of him several years ago after he received his third Paul Harris Fellowship Award from the Rotary club. She recalled those lines Saturday, talking about her husband, who died Jan. 10 at age 91.
The St. Catharines man was known for his years of work for numerous agencies across Niagara, including the former St. Catharines chamber of commerce and St. Thomas Anglican Church, where he was a longtime member. But his main focus was Pathstone Mental Health, which provides mentalhealth services for Niagara children and youths and their families.
“He started off when they were raising money for it,” said Marilyn. “And it was not called Pathstone then, it was the Niagara Child Development Centre.”
For him, she said, it was personal and he used his community contacts to raise money for the fledgling centre.
Through his career at Canada Trust and his work in the community, he knew a lot of people “and he was very good at that,” she said. “I think it takes organization, and you have to keep asking people for money.”
In 2012, Pathstone awarded Gomme its Hope Award, “a select honour” recognizing him for making a significant impact on the lives of kids struggling with mental health.
It credited him for speaking
“openly about mental health and the struggles children were experiencing when there was still great stigma attached.”
As a Rotarian, he was named three times as a Paul Harris Fellow, one of its highest honours.
He was involved with numerous other organizations and was an avid, active bridge player. Marilyn said they weren’t from St. Catharines — the couple moved to the city in 1964 — but he adopted it as his hometown.
She said he spent 10 years researching his book called “The Street Names of St. Catharines.”
It is available online and explains the story behind every street name in the city, from Adel Drive to Ziraldo Drive.
“He collected medicines and medical supplies throughout the region for Not Just Tourists,” she said.
“It’s an organization that collects medical supplies and gives them free to countries that need it … he collected everything from a chair for a dentist to Aspirins.”
Gomme is survived by his wife, their sons Paul (Tatyana) and Andrew (Anne) and four grandchildren.
After his death, his family asked that donations in his memory could be made to Pathstone Mental Health Foundation.