Published in the Toronto Sun
21 January 2014
Re “Widower’s kind act goes viral” (Jan. 16): I am not surprised Lee Ballantyne did something like this for complete strangers. I know him to be a kind and generous man. Lee was once the editor of the Barrie Advance, one of Barrie’s community newspapers, until he retired about six years ago. He gave me my very first freelance job writing for a newspaper, a relationship that continued for several years until his retirement. Lee certainly didn’t have to publish my articles, as I was a complete stranger when we met, but he did on a regular basis — a small but meaningful gesture to me. I thanked him for giving me that break. I’m sorry to hear that Carol passed away, Lee. Cherish the memories you had with her.
Bruce Forsyth
Barrie
(Sometimes, in the news business, we forget how many good, kind, decent people there are out there. It’s nice to be reminded from time to time)
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The following will help to give some context:
Barrie, Ontario, resident Lee Ballantyne, the retired Editor of the Barrie Advance, secretly paid for the meal of a couple he saw eating in a restaurant in Toronto, not long after the death of his wife Carol. His act of kindness was profiled in the Toronto Sun: “Widower’s kind act goes viral.”
I am not surprised Lee Ballantyne did something like this for complete strangers. I know him to be a kind and generous man. Lee was once the editor of one of Barrie’s community newspapers until he retired about six years ago. He gave me my very first freelance job writing for a newspaper, a relationship that continued for several years until his retirement. Lee certainly didn’t have to publish my articles, as I was a complete stranger when we met, but he did on a regular basis — a small but meaningful gesture to me. I thanked him for giving me that break.
I’m sorry to hear that Carol passed away, Lee. Cherish the memories you had with her.
