“I was a nursing student and he was a patient,” she admits wryly, dispelling the notion it was love at first sight. “He came-in (to the hospital) with a broken arm. A few days later, he asked me to dinner and of course I said yes. I was a student without many opportunities. Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember his name. I had to check his wallet.”

After learning what to call him, Carol said yes when Cliff proposed marriage. The couple was married in 1955 and started their new life together in Gananoque.

Carol spent the first 10 years raising their seven children.

“I thought I would go crazy if anyone else called me mom,” she says with a chuckle about her desire to return to nursing when her youngest child started kindergarten. “I just wanted to be called Carol.”

Finding professional satisfaction as an Intensive Care nurse at Hotel Dieu Hospital, Carol worked for approximately 35 years before she retired (for good) when she was 65.

“I had seven great kids. They were all good,” she says about her ability to work and parent. “It was very busy, but they were worth it.”

Carol joined the Carveth Retirement Lodge in 2015, seven years after losing her husband to illness.

“It’s great here,” she explains, kindly. “The friendliness of the residents and staff is wonderful. The care is real. We’re not just a number. We’re a somebody.”

Surrounded by pictures of her family, Carol is content with the slower pace of retirement. To fill her time, she volunteers one-hour almost every day in the home’s gift shop. She loves books and crosswords.

Asked how she won the home’s coveted Resident of the Year award, she replies with uncertainty.

“I don’t know, I really don’t. There’s some awfully good people here. I even voted for someone else. I don’t know how I won. Maybe you could find out for me.”

Lodge Manager Phyllis Lorbetskie was happy to provide the answer.

“Carol is a retired nurse who never stops showing her empathy and compassion for people,” the manager says with confidence. “She’s a dedicated volunteer who is devoted to her home, church and her family. Carole is an exceptional person and it’s an honour to call her friend.”

“I am extremely happy to hear Carol is our Resident of the Year,” adds Brett Gibson, Owner and Operator. “I see Carol throughout the day in the hallways, activity rooms and dining room - always enjoying herself - while interacting with residents, staff and visitors. Residents have voted and we are proud to call Carol the Carveth Care Centre Resident of the Year.”

Ironically, Carol doesn’t see herself as exceptional, despite her ability to see it in others.

Stating with a charming modesty, “I’m just an ordinary-everyday person. Life has been very good to me. There is nothing I would change. I have a lot of faith and I love Canada. I’m proud that we have opened our arms to others and invited them to join our country.”

Carveth Care Centre is proud to have Carol LeClair as part of our Retirement Lodge family. Congratulations on winning Resident of the Year, Carol! We hope you know how much you are loved.