Some people are inspirational by their very presence.
Such a person was Donna Moore. Widely regarded as the Yorkton Terriers’ greatest fan, a perennial fixture at Cardinals games and referred to as “the little general” at Sarcan where she worked for 22 years, she was a tireless volunteer, a friend to all and generous with her love—and with her shortbread cookies.
As much as Yorkton loved Donna, she loved living here, said her sister Nancy Klempp.
Her family and Yorkton lost Donna this year, on July 16, at just 56 years of age, but all of which she lived to their fullest by all accounts.
And before she went, she got to see her beloved hockey team win a national championship.
“She had a real passion for the Terriers,” said Don Chesney, the team’s general manager. “In all the teams I’ve been with over the years, you never found a more dedicated fan than Donna Moore.”
Nancy recalled the joy the RBC Cup brought her sister.
“She was just on top of the world that her Terriers had won,” Nancy said.
Bio
Donna was born August 26, 1957 in Kamsack, the second of five children of Tom and Shirley Moore. Because of her special circumstances she moved to the Valley View Centre in Moose Jaw, a residential facility for people with disabilities, when she was six. In 1975, at the age of 18 she arrived in Yorkton and, according to Nancy, was immediately and deeply embraced by the community. She worked a few different jobs before settling in with Saskatchewan Abilities Council (SAC) and Sarcan in 1991.
In 2011, she was the Terriers’ Volunteer of the Year.
She was also a huge supporter of hockey officials and received recognition from the Saskatchewan Hockey Association Referee’s Division with a gold referee pin and the honorary designation “Supervisor of Officials.”
“She never saw herself as disabled or handicapped in any way,” Nancy said. “Life was just normal for her.”
Accolades
In April, Donna retired from Sarcan. Dozens of people attended a party in her honour. She was very pleased with the attention.
“I love it,” she told Yorkton This Week. “It feels good.”
Her good friend, MLA Greg Ottenbreit, who used to take her around to Tim Hortons on Thursday mornings when he was in town, used Donna’s retirement to sing her praises in the Saskatchewan legislature.
“Donna was born in 1957 with what some would see as insurmountable challenges,” Ottenbreit said. “She endured many reconstructive surgeries in her younger days but tired of the discomfort, and was very comfortable with who she was. Those who know her today only see a woman with an amazing work ethic and a loyal, generous and loving heart.”
After her death, CBC did a feature interview with Ottenbreit about her and Stanley Cup champion and Terriers alum Jared Stoll commemorated her on Twitter.
Generosity
That generosity was especially prevalent at this time of year. Donna was famous for her shortbread cookies, which she liberally distributed every Christmas.
During the Terriers home game December 19, Donna’s long-time friend Kathy Gordon, made a special presentation to the team.
After Donna died in the summer, as Kathy was going through her friend’s apartment, she found ingredients Donna had been collecting to make the cookies. To carry on the tradition in a tribute to Donna, Kathy made the cookies this year and presented them to the team members at centre ice before the game.
In each package there were six cookies, one of which had a small Terrier orange dot on it representing Donna’s soul.
“I don’t know if they even noticed,” Kathy said. “I couldn’t say it out loud.”
Nancy also recalled her sister’s generosity.
“One of the things that stood out was she never, ever, forgot a date,” Nancy said. “She had a great memory that way and she always gave cards and presents to members of the family and her friends. She was a loving daughter, sister, aunt and friend.”
That is not to say she was always sunshine and roses.
“She was very outspoken,” said Steven Rosowsky, her manager at SAC for the past seven years. “She called it as she saw it. She was known as the little general in the Sarcan system. If she didn’t agree with something, or had an opinion about something, she didn’t hesitate to go the top of the food chain at Sarcan and she would call the director in Saskatoon and he would take her call.
“She was unique. Not too many people could do that, but people respected her for having the confidence to do something like that.”
Nancy explained it was a quality that came from a strong sense of right and wrong.
“She lived by the book,” Nancy said.
Inspirational
“When we reflected on her after she passed, she was an ambassador for people with disabilities,” Rosowsky said. “She proved you can be successful with limitations in a lot of different ways. She was successful in employment, she was successful in a social setting; she was an all around successful lady.”
Chesney was a good friend for many years.
“Donna was a very special person to all who knew her and knew who she was,” he said. “I think she taught us all something, to be happy with we’ve got and live every day.”
This is the inaugural edition of Citizen of the Year as selected by the news team at Yorkton This Week. What are your thoughts? We welcome letters to the editor. Write to [email protected].
