Longtime community advocate and Peterborough resident, Kenn Grainger, has died.
A source close to Grainger told Global News that he died Tuesday afternoon at Fairhaven long-term care facility at the age of 94.
Grainger, who moved to the city from Manitoba at the age of 15, was involved in numerous community organizations and groups. He was former chairman of the CNIB (he was legally blind), former chairman of the Peterborough and District Pathway of Fame, a volunteer with the Kiawanis Club, youth hockey and baseball. He was a 38-year volunteer with area figure skating, the United Way Peterborough and District, the Peterborough Hospital Foundation, the YMCA, Kinsmen Club and K-40 Club. He was also involved with Elmer the Safety Elephant elementary school program.
In recent years, Grainger was in the spotlight with a number of fundraising initiatives supporting Fairhaven, including skydiving and water-skiing on Stoney Lake north of the city in 2013, 2014 and at age 88 in 2015, staying upright for 32 seconds.
He also took to a zip-line, descending in the bucket of a lift truck, and soaring down the roof of the long-term care facility in 2016 at age 89.
At age 90, in lieu of gifts for a birthday party at Fairhaven, he encouraged people to donate to Kawartha Food Share, resulting in 400 pounds of food, and more than $2,500 being collected for the food bank.
Grainger was predeceased by his wife Irene in 1992, due to breast cancer. He was a father of four children. In 2005, Grainger was named an inductee into the Pathway of Fame’s Samaritan category, recognizing his more more than five decades of community work.
“When it comes to love of one’s community, Kenn Grainger has certainly ‘talked the good talk.’ But unlike so many others, he has backed those words with a lifetime of action,” the Pathway’s honour read.
In a statement issued late Wednesday afternoon, the Pathway of Fame described Grainger as “proud, caring, compassionate, dedicated, genuine, generous and ultimately charming.”
“His, was a life brimming with volunteerism and possibility. To the latter, most will remember his more recent exploits that saw the legally blind senior make an assisted jump from an airplane and later, managing to get up on water skis – all the while raising funds and awareness that retired individuals need not be merely ‘retiring’ in their attitude towards life,” the statement read.
“The essence of a good community Samaritan lies in translating your love of community into action, and deed. Words are easy, actions aren’t always so. Kenn Grainger is a shining example of the best community Samaritanism. In spite of growing personal limitations, Kenn seemed to find the secret to a life of vitality by giving of himself, to making the lives of others better.”
Grainger is also a recipient of Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal and an Ontario Ministry of Education award, recognizing his work with school children.
“Kenn is a champion among champions,” Fairhaven described him in a 2015 post. “He knows how to enjoy life to the fullest, encourages progress and welcomes change. Kenn is an advocate for Fairhaven and the community, as well as a very patriotic individual that continues to display the Canadian flag in his home.”
Fairhaven on Wednesday could not comment, citing privacy reasons.
Grainger often said his life goal was to reach 95, an age he would have reached on March 7.
A celebration of life is expected in the spring or summer.
— More to come
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