Woman honoured to take part in National Day of Mourning event
Leah Jenkins-foster’s father, Willis Jenkins, will be recognized this year
Last summer, Leah Jenkinsfoster came to Corner Brook to see the place where her father, Willis Jenkins, worked and died.
As many visitors have before her, she fell in love with the area and vowed to return.
Little did she think then that it would be so soon.
WILLIS REMEMBERED
Jenkins-foster and her husband, David Foster, will make a quick trip to the city this weekend as her father’s name is added to the Corner Brook and District Labour Council’s roll call of people who have lost their lives in workplace accidents.
Jenkins will be recognized at the labour council’s National Day of Mourning ceremony on Sunday, April 28, at the Holy Redeemer Cathedral.
FATHER SHE NEVER KNEW
Jenkins-foster lives in Plaster Rock, N.B., and shared her story with The Telegram when she visited Corner Brook in September 2023.
She was two years old when her father was killed while working on an extension to the dock facilities at Seal Head on Feb. 22, 1961.
Jenkins was 48 and a master mechanic with Foundation Maritime Co. Ltd. and working on driving concrete piles for a marine dock being built for the Canadian National Railway.
He was killed instantly when a piece of steel used in lifting the piles detached from the pile-driving equipment and hit him in the head.
Jenkins was buried in New Brunswick.
NO MEMORIES
Jenkins-foster told The Telegram that her father worked on the road and may have only seen her a few times. She has no memories of him and what she does know about him has come from others. Many family possessions and items related to her father were lost in a house fire.
“So, we never had a lot of photos. We never had information of where he was. I knew he was in Corner Brook. I knew he was doing what he was doing, but we didn’t have a lot of information,” she said.
That’s why making the trip to Corner Brook was so important for her. It was a way that she could learn more about and connect with him.
During their trip, they thought they would just be able to see the general area of where her father had been working, but were shown the actual location by Jackie Chow, CEO of the Corner Brook Port Corporation.
“We were just so fortunate that the people we ran into, just everything fell into place,” she said.
‘A LITTLE BIT OF CLOSURE’
Telegram journalist Gary Kean put Jenkins-foster in touch with Jim O’neill, who has chaired the Day of Mourning event since 2005.
At the time it was uncertain when Jenkins’ name would be added, but a few weeks ago, O’neill contacted her to let her know that her dad’s name would be recognized at this year’s ceremony. With that, she made some quick arrangements to attend.
“I’m excited, and it’s been a journey. It kind of gives me a little bit of closure,” she said.
‘A LOT OF EMOTIONS’
It was an emotional thing for her to talk about and she said finding the words to describe what it will mean to have him remembered in such a way was hard.
“I’m honoured that I was asked to come back and be at the service and lay a wreath. It’s a lot of emotions,” she said.
Her father’s name will also be engraved on the labour council’s monument on Mill Road across the street from Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Ltd.
SECOND NAME TO BE ADDED
Another name that will be engraved on the monument is Phil Parsons, who was killed in January 2017 in an accident at a Maritime Transmission Link worksite at Indian Head, near Stephenville Crossing.
All the names currently engraved, and those to be added to the monument, will be displayed at the ceremony.
The list includes people who died since 1951 when the Corner Brook and District Labour Council was formed. O’neill said there are names on there from before 1951, as the council will never refuse anyone who wants a loved one recognized.
BROTHER AND BROTHER-IN-LAW LOST
Among the list of the 55 people who have been previously recognized are two who are special to O’neill.
His brother, Edward O’neill, and brother-in-law, Michael Joseph, both died in workplace accidents.
Edward O’neill was killed in an industrial accident while working at the Iron Ore Company of Canada in Labrador City in 1967.
Edward was working at the pellet plant and O’neill was working in the mill at the same time.
“I went up first and I was up there for about three months, and he came up. Two weeks after he came up, he got killed, fell through a hole in the floor that he didn’t see,” said O’neill.
The hole had been covered by a piece of sheet metal but the coating of pellet dust covering it made it difficult to see.
Michael Joseph was working with CN Railway when he was killed on the train at Petries Crossing in 1975.
‘NOT SOMETHING YOU FORGET’
Those things stick with you, said O’neill.
“It’s not something you forget easily,” he said.
Having a personal connection can make it harder to be involved, but O’neill said it motivates him not to give it up.
“This ceremony means a lot to people,” he said.
Anyone interested in placing a wreath on behalf of a loved one or organization can contact O’neill at 709-6343695 or by email at jloneill@nf.sympatico.ca.