The Memorial Wall

Percy Schmeiser, farmer known for fight against Monsanto, dead at 89. Schmeiser is remembered by his son as a dedicated father who loved taking his grandchildren fishing. Schmeiser, who had Parkinson's disease, is survived by his wife, Louise Schmeiser. 

John Schmeiser told CBC News his father died peacefully in his sleep Tuesday afternoon at the age of 89. Schmeiser had Parkinson's disease.

The Saskatchewan farmer became famous in the late 1990s after agrochemical giant Monsanto took him to court. The company had found its genetically modified canola in Schmeiser's field, but he had never paid for the right to grow it. Schmeiser insisted the seeds had blown onto his field in the wind and that he owned them. Monsanto sued him, and in the end, the case went all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled that the farmer had knowingly violated Monsanto's patent. 

As the world media descends on Percy Schmeiser and his battle with Monsanto, neighbours and scientists question the validity of his defence. Schmeiser's son John said the court case was only one part of his life, as it happened when Schmeiser was getting ready to retire. John said he'll remember Percy as a dedicated father, grandfather and businessman. 

"I am privileged to this day to be his son," John said. "Growing up, it was very, very evident right from the beginning about how concerned he was about his community and his family." Schmeiser served on town council in Bruno, Sask., for several years, both as mayor and as a councillor. He also ran a couple of businesses and ran a farm, John said. "We were always busy," John said. "And he always made time to be with family. And when grandchildren started to rise, it just took it to another level for him because he had more children to be around."

Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser’s battle with Monsanto, which went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, has been turned into a Hollywood movie called Percy. Although the movie is endorsed by Schmeiser’s family, there are concerns about its accuracy. Zakreski saw the movie at the Calgary Film Festival with Schmeiser's son, John, and said it was a strange and surreal experience. Though he said the film got more things right than wrong, there were some aspects where the director took artistic license. "The trial was a lot more intense and a lot more dramatic than it was portrayed," he said. "It took place in Saskatoon on a larger scale and it drew an incredible amount of interest. There were media scrums going into and out of court. It was a very high pressure situation."

"He was just an extraordinary person. I haven't met someone like him … an example for us all."

John said memories about his father that stand out are his passion for fishing and sharing his skills. "He would go to great lengths to take his grandchildren, when they were four, five, six years old, he would take them fishing. And he just loved doing that," John said. "For all of us, that was a very, very special thing and it was so important to him." Schmeiser would be filled with pride when he saw his grandchildren catch their first fish, John said. "I don't know who had a bigger smile, [Schmeiser] or one of his grandchildren," John said. "For him, that was just an incredible sense of accomplishment, to see them catch fish."

John said he hopes his father is remembered as that dedicated grandfather, passionate fisher and someone who would do anything to see his community succeed. Schmeiser would be there for his customers at the farm equipment dealership at any time, and even in retirement watched the weather to make sure they had a good harvest, John said. 

Schmeiser is survived by his wife Louise. The two had just had their 68th wedding anniversary on Oct. 2. John said they met at a dance in Bruno, Sask., and lived there their entire lives. Now, Bruno is home for him and his siblings forever, he said. 

In a video recorded in September 2020, the Schmeisers thanked people for their support through the legal battle and for the opportunity to have their story told in a recently released movie called Percy. (Mongrel Media/Vimeo)

Source: Saskatchewan

Eugene E. Loya, age 83, resident of Lake Shore, passed away on Thursday, September 3, 2020 at Good Samaritan Society – Bethany. Gene was born on June 6, 1937 in Brainerd to Ernest and Elsie (Kruger) Loya.

Gene graduated from Brainerd High School and was on the basketball state championship team of 1954. After graduation, he attended the University of Minnesota where he earned his Doctorate in Dental Medicine. After school, he joined the Air Force and was stationed in Tinker Air Force base in Del City, Oklahoma. Eventually, Gene opened his own dental practice in Minneapolis which was later relocated to Nisswa. He was an avid fisherman until he found his true passion in golf. Him and his wife, Patricia, were longtime golf members at Madden’s. His children will miss him and remember him as a fun, yet always a practical father.

He is survived by his children, Kristi (Don) Nelson, Greg (Denise), Brad (Heather); grandchildren, Tyler and Brett Nelson, Kelly (Derek) Jackson, Blake Loya, and Caitlyn and Makenna Loya; great-grandson, Owen Jackson; sister, Darlene Bolme; sister-in-law, Karen (Roger) Johnson; and many nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his parents; his wife of 61 years, Patricia (Marttila) Loya; brothers-in-law, Robert Marttila and Jeff Bolme; and sister-in-law, Jackie Marttila.

Eugene Loya lived with Parkinson's disease 

Nancy Gorr left her mark on the town of Peterborough, making history as the first female president of the Rotary, and a long-time leader of the Chamber of Commerce and the Parent Guidance Center.

Gorr, 86, a resident of Summerhill Assisted Living, passed away Aug. 22 after a period of failing health related to her ongoing battle with Parkinson’s disease.

Gorr was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and came by her civic-mindedness, helping her father tend the family “victory garden.”

She and her husband, Arthur Gorr, raised four children together. When her children chose to attend colleges in New England, Gorr began to look for a home in the area. When she walked into what would become her Pine Street home for the first time, she knew immediately it was the right fit.

“She turned to the real estate agent and said, ‘This is it. This is the house,’” her daughter, Ellen Gorr of Harrisville said. And from that moment, Gorr was all in as a member of the Peterborough community.

Though a transplant who landed in Peterborough in 1982, the Pennsylvania native lost no time in putting her civic-mindedness to work in her new hometown.

“She was always on a committee,” said Ellen. “If you were out in public with her, she knew everybody in town.”

Gorr jumped in with both feet into several town committees and charitable boards, as well as joining the Rotary Club, where she would eventually become the club’s first woman president.

In 1986, she became the Executive Director of the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce, a post she held for nearly 10 years. In 1995, she was recognized as Peterborough’s Citizen of the Year for her work at the Chamber. But her “retirement” wasn’t to last. The next year, she became the executive director of the Parent Guidance Center, the organization that would eventually become The River Center. She held that position for another five years.

But she wasn’t only involved with civic and charitable endeavors. Gorr was a fixture in Peterborough, and could often be found at the Peterborough Diner or Nonie’s, singing with the Monadnock Chorus, among the audience at the Summer Lyceum series, or volunteering at the Union Congregational Church.

And she always had time for the people in her life.

Her grandson, Seth Blake, and his mother lived with Gorr for most of his childhood, he said in an interview Friday. And though his grandmother was always busy with one thing or another, she always had time for a conversation.

“She drove me to school, picked me up – she always had time for me, which was amazing,” Blake said. “As a little kid, you don’t think so much about it, but in retrospect, knowing how busy and active she was, it’s remarkable.”

Gorr had a personality that made it easy to open up to her.

“She was very warm, and very much made people feel comfortable,” Blake said. “She had a gentle sense of humor. She was very jovial and quick to laugh.”

“She was very accepting of all people,” said Ellen Gorr. “She really liked meeting people and building relationships.”

Gorr was a strong believer in supporting the local economy, and would eat out multiple times a week, with several “favorite” spots.

“People should know – if there was any doubt – that she was who she appeared to be, which was just an incredibly passionate and compassionate person,” Blake said. “She loved this town, was uncynical in her civic life and causes. She’s the kind of person who devoted herself to making life, and society, in her own small way, better for everybody. She had a devotion to service and volunteerism, and trying to leave the world a better place than she found it.”

George Madsen(1934 - 2018) Madsen, George George E. Madsen, 84, born March 15, 1934, in Fresno, CA, died October 21, 2018, at home. He leaves behind his wife Sandy, daughter, Vivian Ryan (Don); granddaughter Laura, USAF (Chase Mattingly, USAF) and new great-granddaughter Harper Elizabeth Mattingly; granddaughters Amber, Kendra, and Eileen; daughter Cheryl Knobbe (John) and granddaughters Olivia and Estella; and extra daughter Gini Chubbuck Kenwisher (Gary) and her son Cameron.

George Madsen received a BS and an MS from Cal Tech in Civil Engineering. He was a very dedicated Civil Engineer, Public Health Service, Flood Estimator, Hydrologist for Arctic Health Research in Alaska and designed and built experimental housing; did Sewerage Survey for Northern San Diego County; he was City Engineer and Public Works Director for the City of Costa Mesa; introduced double left-turn pockets in the City of Costa Mesa; worked on street development projects around South Coast Plaza via Segerstrom family; created mound/mountain at TeWinkle Park; was in charge of the engineering research and restoration of the Adobe at Estancia Park.

George was active in engineering societies and very devoted to and active in the Presbyterian Church of The Covenant, especially doing engineering in the building of the church buildings, parking lots, walls, furniture. George was a strong family man, teaching, working with the girls; camping, fishing, canoeing, skiing; their sports, colleges, and especially loved his granddaughters, their schooling and sports, always there for us and others.

With profound sadness, we announce the passing of Dr. Robert George Grossman. As the most loving husband, father, father-in-law and grandfather in the universe, he was our North Star, our compass forward. We are grieving deeply as a family. We are also filled with gratitude for the life he led and the legacy he leaves.

Born on January 24, 1933, in The Bronx, New York, Dr. Grossman is preceded in death by his parents, Dr. Ferenc Grossman and Vivian Eisenberg Grossman. Dr. Grossman was an only child and was adored by his parents who were both immigrants to the United States. Ferenc, who was born in Hungary, was a family practice doctor, and Vivian, who was born in Lithuania, was a grade schoolteacher. Together, they believed that hard work and caring for others were traits to live by and they were successful in their new country. Ferenc and Vivian's greatest love was for their son, and they nurtured Dr. Grossman's interests in science, math, poetry, literature, philosophy and classical music. Ferenc never refused a patient and would treat patients even if they could not afford to pay. In return, grateful families would leave baskets of eggs or bottles of milk on their doorstep. That legacy of caring for others made an indelible mark on Dr. Grossman, who made that a cornerstone of his life's work. Dr. Grossman would treat his patients with compassion and dignity, no matter who they were. He would also make house calls, taking his old school black doctor's bag to the homes of patients who needed help. He was a listener and had a calm and kind manner and would take the time to really hear what his patients were saying and then proceed to help them.

Dr. Grossman honored both his mother and father by becoming a practicing neurosurgeon and a professor. Dr. Grossman had a memorable and loving childhood in New York City and graduated from the Horace Mann School in 1949. He would recall many happy times growing up -- from once getting locked in the Bronx Zoo with a group of friends after dark to his Bar Mitzvah at age 13 and meeting his future wife, Ellin, when he was 16 years old, and she was just 15. It was absolute love at first sight and they were together from that moment on. They were married in 1955 at Ellin's parent's apartment on the Upper East Side and celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary this past June.

Dr. Grossman attended Swarthmore College and graduated in 1953 with a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honors in the Division of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. Always intellectually curious, Dr. Grossman was just 16 years old when he started Swarthmore. Swarthmore held some of Dr. Grossman's fondest memories and he spent the rest of his life remarking on the positive impact the college had on him from best friends to a top-notch education.

Upon graduation, Dr. Grossman attended medical school in New York City and received his M.D., College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, in 1957. Next, Dr. Grossman completed his postgraduate training as an Intern in the surgical service at The University of Rochester, Strong Memorial in 1958.

Dr. Grossman then proudly served the United States of America as a Captain, Medical Corps, U.S.A.R., Department of Neurophysiology. For two years, from 1958 to 1960 Dr. Grossman worked at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, D.C. in the Laboratory of Robert Galambos, M.D.

From 1960 to 1962, Dr. Grossman was a Resident and in 1963, he was Chief Resident, Department of Neurological Surgery, Neurological Institute of New York, at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.

Upon finishing his residency in 1963, Dr. Grossman moved to Texas and accepted his first neurosurgical position as Associate Professor, Division of Neurological Surgery, at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. Dr. Grossman stayed there until 1968, becoming an instructor and then Assistant Professor. It was while he was at work at Parkland Hospital on November 22, 1963 that Dr. Grossman received a phone call to rush to Trauma Room One. President John F. Kennedy had been shot and Dr. Grossman, as one of the two neurosurgeons on staff, was summoned to attend the president.

In 1969, Dr. Grossman and his family moved back to New York where he was appointed Associate Professor and then Professor of Neurological Surgery, Department of Neurological Surgery, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York. And, in 1973, Dr. Grossman returned to Texas -- this time to Galveston -- to be the Professor of Surgery and Chief of the Division of Neurological Surgery. It was his first Chairmanship and Dr. Grossman was proud of the work accomplished in Galveston.

In 1980, Dr. Grossman was appointed Chairman, Department of Neurosurgery, The Methodist Hospital, in Houston, Texas. Additionally, Dr. Grossman was appointed the Chairman of Neurosurgery at Baylor College of Medicine from 1980 to 2005. Dr. Grossman remained the Chairman of Neurosurgery at The Methodist Hospital from 1980 to 2013 and has continued to be a Professor of Neurosurgery since 2013. Dr. Grossman was also the Founder and First Director, Neurological Institute, The Methodist Hospital in 2005.

In 2004, Dr. Grossman founded North American Clinical Trials Network (NACTN) for Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). NACTN's mission is to continually advance the quality of care and the quality of life of people with spinal cord injury through clinical trials of new therapy that provide strong evidence of safety and effectiveness.

Not many people make it to age 88 and still work, but Dr. Grossman's passion for advancing medicine never stopped. He was very proud that he was able to work his entire life and never retired. He believed with 24 hours in a day, much could be accomplished. And so he did.

Dr. Grossman had a keen interest in helping patients with epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson's Disease, spinal cord injury and brain tumors. He made an impact in both helping patients as well as making scientific contributions in all of those neurological areas. From 1960 until 2012, Dr. Grossman performed more than 8,000 major neurosurgical operations.

It was common for Dr. Grossman to be at dinner or a grandchild's school event and have people walk over to say how much they appreciated his care for them or a family member. Those comments always brought him joy that he was able to help make a difference.

Dr. Grossman created his own filing system that became his signature: a stack of white index cards, wrapped in a green rubber band that he kept in the pocket of his white doctor's coat or the front of his button-down shirt. Dr. Grossman would keep detailed notes about his patients and would constantly add to the notes to ensure their care. And he also would keep notes on books he wanted to read, PBS shows to watch and notes about which friend was having a birthday, an anniversary, or a baby.

His dedication for training other doctors to become neurosurgeons was his calling. He was extremely proud of the fact that the neurosurgeons he trained and worked with are now among the leaders in the field in Houston and around the country. Dr. Grossman trained two percent of the neurosurgeons in the United States.

Additionally, Dr. Grossman had a keen interest in scientific research. He was a prolific writer, and wrote eight medical books, including Medical Neurobiology: Neuroanatomical and Neurophysiological Principles Basic to Clinical Neuroscience. Dr. Grossman also wrote 216 articles for scientific journals and chapters in 52 different medical textbooks.

Dr. Grossman served on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery and World Neurosurgery. Additionally, he served as Chair, American Board of Neurological Surgeons and President of the Society of Neurological Surgeons. He was a member of the Christopher Reeve Foundation International Research Consortium Advisory Panel and helped guide their research program. In Houston, Dr. Grossman helped found the Houston chapter of the Epilepsy Association Texas and was involved with TIRR and the Houston Area Parkinson's Society.

Dr. Grossman was awarded many honors and some of his most cherished were accepting the Cushing Medal from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, 2007, for service to Neurosurgery; and the Albert and Ellen Grass Foundation Prize and Medal from the Society of Neurological Surgeons, 1988, for continuous commitment to research in the neurosciences.

Outside of work, Dr. Grossman had numerous interests: photography, sundials, astronomy, sailing and fly fishing. He was a prolific reader and read everything from Greek and Roman classics to English poetry and mystery novels. Dr. Grossman was perennially cheerful, upbeat and a joy to be around. People would always remark that Dr. Grossman was a true gentleman -- and his calm, reassuring demeanor are going to be missed.

And even though he was so proud of his professional accomplishments, Dr. Grossman was even more proud of his family. And it all started with Ellin. Theirs was a love story that knew no bounds. They were inseparable and devoted to one another.

Together, they traveled the world from France to Israel, Japan to Scotland, Egypt to Italy and beyond. They built a vacation home in Santa Fe, New Mexico that became their happy place, their true sanctuary. In Santa Fe, they would hike, birdwatch, eat, look at the stars, visit the library and the museums and enjoy friendships and camaraderie. At home in Houston, they and would attend productions of the Gilbert and Sullivan society, Alley Theater and the Houston Grand Opera among others. They would read books, exercise, and spend time with dear friends and family. They also had two wonderful Westie dogs that they loved and they also treasured their involvement with the West Highland White Terrier Club of Southeast Texas.

Dr. Grossman was always so proud of his family, who will forever love him. He is survived by the love of his life, Ellin and their children and grandchildren: Dr. Amy Coburn and husband Dr. Michael Coburn, along with their son Jeff Coburn and daughter Laura Coburn; daughter Kate Rose along with her son Joel Gottsegen and her daughter Claire Gottsegen; and daughter Jennifer Oakley and husband Bruce Oakley along with their children Jessica Sosa and her husband Jonathan Sosa, Sarah Oakley, Connor Albert, Paige Albert and William Robert Oakley, who was named after Dr. Grossman.

His nine grandchildren named him "Grumpy" -- which they all thought was funny because it was the furthest thing from the truth. He loved his grandchildren with all his heart and was always a source of information, someone to talk to and learn from and the creator of memorable times. The annual Grandchildren's New Year's Eve sleepovers are cherished memories. If a grandchild said they were interested in geology, a geode would be given to them. If they said they liked music, he would give them CDs of Mozart; if they were interested in geography, he would give them a globe. If they were interested in animals, he took them to the Galapagos Island. In truth, he was giving them the world. And they all knew it.

Dr. Grossman cared about people. He had the ability to make everyone feel special -- but that is because he really did think they were. For his family, he wasn't just working at his job, he was demonstrating how waking up early and going strong all day long allows you to get more out of each day; when he was given an award from TIRR just a few years ago, he accepted it with gratitude and then said "I still have much work to do." In his medical research, he was not just working to help try and find a cure for spinal cord paralysis but he was teaching his grandkids to think about others, to help those in need, to try and go further and search for solutions where none yet exist. When he used to go the grandchildren's schools to give a lecture about how the brain works, he was not talking about himself and his accomplishments, he was demonstrating how to be curious and to give back to others through selfless service. He believed helping and teaching others is a key to life. And, when he woke up every morning singing and telling Ellin that he loved her, he was teaching our family how to find joy and care for a spouse.

We don't know who revolves around whom in our family but we tend to think we all revolved around Dr. Grossman. It's no wonder that Dr. Grossman was fascinated by the cosmos, because in our family, simply put, he hung the moon.

As a family, we would like to thank Dr. Grossman's close friends and colleagues who helped care for him. It is a sad irony that a man whose life was devoted to the study of neurological diseases was confronted with Parkinson's Disease. Like everything else in his life, Dr. Grossman faced it bravely, squarely and gracefully. Dr. Grossman's medical team of Dr. Robert Jackson, Dr. Al Raizner and Dr. Eugene Lai were unparalleled in their expert care.