A very tough year Sexsmith's St. Mary's mourns loss of Joe Opatowski By Kristy Lesh Herald-Tribune staff A tough year for St. Mary's Catholic school in Sexsmith got even tougher this week as students and staff are again mourning the death of someone who touched their lives. Joe Opatowski, a member of the Toronto-based Free the Children organization, was killed in a car accident near Buffalo, N.Y., Oct. 29. Opatowski had visited the school last spring after the school raised $3,000 for the charity which focuses on ending child labour. "He came and he spoke to our entire student body that day, he spoke to the entire St. Pat's student body that day and then spoke at our gala in the evening for the community," said Carmen Moore, principal at St. Mary's. She said Opatowski's message left a lasting impression on staff and students and they are all saddened to hear of his passing. "I just went in on Monday morning and asked (the students) to pray. The next day they all wore the T-shirts that Joe had signed at the gala as a memorial. We had a staff prayer for him as well." Opatowski was scheduled to return to Grande Prairie in February as part of his tour and although other stops on his tour cost others $1,000, he was making the trip free. "He was so impressed with everything Grande Prairie had been doing for Free the Children for the past two years," said Moore. Moore said one of her fondest memories of Opatowski was when she rushed to the airport to say good-bye to him following his presentation. "He gave me one final hug and I said, 'wow that was quite a hug' and he was like, 'well you never know we might never see each other again.' At the time you think, 'yeah maybe not, but see you in February.' And it was." Opatowski's death comes just over a month after the sudden death of popular Grade 4/5 teacher Coralie Tapson. Tapson suffered a stroke and was aiflifted to Edmonton where she passed away. Moore said grieving Tapson's death and the school's strong faith has helped students and staff cope. "Thank goodness we're in a Catholic school because we can focus on the afterlife and hope," she said. "We have gone through the extreme grief and I guess we really grew out of Corie's passing. You feel a little battered down but there's still a pervasive mood of hope." St. Patrick's school in Grande Prairie is also remembering Opatowski. The school has been involved in Free the Children for the past two years. In the first year of involvement the school made a record-breaking donation of $23,000 which helped build a school in a Third World country. "He showed (the students) that even though he came from a home life that probably wasn't all that wonderful, he was able to use those experience to turn his own life around," said Caroline Richards, principal at St. Pat's. She said Opatowski delivered a lasting message of hope and showed a deep love of children. "The memory that I have of him that I'll never forget was at the end of the presentation, he had about 40 kids surrounding him that all wanted to hug him and he decided to have a hug chain happening. They wove a big circular symbol around him and it was so neat because they were having so much fun with him. You could just tell how much he appreciated and loved them even though he didn't know them." Richards said the students and staff at St. Patrick have prayed for him as well. "We're definitely carrying on with the child labour project that we started at St. Pat's a few years ago. We'll definitely be speaking about Joe and his message that he left with us ... we'll be keeping his memory alive." Source: Daily Herald - Tribune |