Seasons senior recognized for remarkable life
If anyone ever told Ann Gono it’s a man’s world, she proved them wrong.
The 86-year-old Seasons Welland resident has a long background of community service and accomplishment that has placed her as one of three finalists in the Seasons Retirement Communities’ sixth annual Remarkable Residents Contest.
“She’s got a really good story of woman power,” said Seasons Welland fun manager Marcella Blanchard, who nominated Gono for the award. Blanchard was already familiar with Gono’s volunteer efforts, but when researching for the award some other accomplishments came to light.
“I don’t think she meant to fight for women’s rights, but in a way she did,” said Blanchard.
In 1951 Gono moved from the Welland clerk’s office over to the city assessment department as a department clerk. She saw the work done by assessors and decided that would be her career path.
“At the time, it was strictly a man’s job,” said Gono, who saw the world was, in the 1950s, starting to open up. Women were completing medical degrees and becoming doctors, becoming principals at high schools and taking on jobs once reserved for men. Gono wasn’t about to be left behind, spending three years taking correspondence courses through Queen’s University to earn her assessor’s licence. When she achieved that goal she was one of four women in the province to hold such a title. In 1960 she was appointed as office manager of the department, overseeing five men and four women.
That wasn’t the only time Gono challenged the gender divide either. After her father died in 1963 Gono decided she wanted to build a house of her own for herself and her mother. She headed over to Central Mortgage and Housing in St. Catharines to apply for a mortgage. Gono knew exactly the requirements and came prepared with three sets of plans, a deposit cheque and a completed application so she could move forward on building the bungalow she desired on Broadway Avenue. During the meeting for her mortgage, the man, whose name she has since forgotten, told her the organization did not grant mortgages to single women.
Gono has racked up immense experience as a volunteer, with her church of St. Augustine’s, the Canadian Cancer Society, Welland Museum and more.
“If the community is good to you, you give back to those around you,” said Gono.
Videos of the finalists’ life stories have been posted on the Seasons Retirement Communities Facebook page. The senior with the most likes and shares will scoop up the award.