Petawawa

Gloria Deane-Freeman

Let’s welcome our neighbour, Gloria Deane-Freeman.

Hi, Gloria! Tell us a bit about yourself.

Hello! My name is Gloriajean Deane-Freeman. My friends call me “Gloria.” I’ve had an interesting life. I was born and raised in Ottawa. I was the oldest of ten kids, but only five of us have survived. Growing up in a big family with all its busyness has made me not take life or myself too seriously.

Over the course of my working life, I have worked in a bank, a gift shop, and later, owned my own business. The reason for different vocations was that we were always moving all over Ontario. My husband was a banker, and because he was upwardly mobile, we were required to move often. This enabled me to meet many interesting people.

I’ve held several volunteer positions over the years. I’ve served as the president on several boards of directors, including condominiums, community associations, Heart & Stroke, the Cancer Society, and the Christian Women’s Club.

Sixteen years ago, I co-founded The Christmas Angels in Petawawa with Kim Clouthier, who owned Kelsey’s restaurant at the time. It was originally founded when our soldiers were in Afghanistan and sought to serve Christmas dinner to their families and the community. It continues to serve Christmas dinners to this day under the direction of Theresa Sabourin. My role is now raising funds and donating.

I have always been active within my church communities, including volunteering in pastoral care, chairing the outreach committee, and performing other duties. I also served as a Christian speaker for Stonecroft Ministries, speaking in many cities across Ontario.

My husband and I have been married for 60 years. Living in Petawawa is the longest I’ve lived anywhere. It’s a fabulous community that welcomes newcomers with open arms.

What’s the funniest thing that ever happened to you?

I used to enjoy cross-country skiing, and on one of my outings, I was skiing with my husband and my brother. We were skiing across fields and in wooded areas. In this one spot, I saw what I thought was a hill. I picked up speed, thinking I could sail up and over that hill very quickly. Unfortunately, the hill was an abandoned, derelict car completely covered in snow. When I went to ski up this “hill,” my skis went through the window of the car, and I landed with my body sprawled across the top of it.

Needless to say, my husband and my brother were of no help to me as they were too busy laughing.

Also, when I was a single bank teller, there was a very good-looking soldier who always came to my wicket. I saw him approaching the bank, so I quickly ducked behind the counter to put my lipstick on. As I was serving him, I noticed he had a funny look on his face, and I didn’t know why. I turned to the teller to my right and asked her why he had looked at me so funny. She burst into peals of laughter. I asked the girl on my left, and in between tears of laughter, she told me to look in the mirror. I took my compact out and saw that I had put my tube of turquoise eye shadow on my lips by mistake. Heads up, always use your mirror when applying makeup.

What 3 adjectives do you think your friends and family would use to describe you?

I hope they would say: empathetic, caring, and that I have an outrageous sense of humour.

If you could start a new career path, what would it be?

Since I’ve always been blessed with good administrative skills, a sense of fairness, and a desire to help others, I would choose to be a politician. Please don’t throw things at me.

They say that what you enjoy doing as a kid indicates what your ideal profession should be. Since I was always busily cleaning the forest and creating little rooms, I ended up studying interior decorating. That’s another career path I would have enjoyed.

If you had to become a breakfast cereal, which one would you choose and why?

I suffer from mobility issues. As such, I would be Rice Krispies, so the snap and crackle would drown out the popping of my bones.

If Hollywood made a movie based on your life, who would you like to see play you in the film?

I would like to see Phyllis Diller (when she was alive, of course) play me because she always saw the humour in things.

What was the worst style choice you ever made?

When I was about 14, I asked my sister if I could borrow her pleated, reversible skirt, which was a beautiful baby blue and navy plaid. And because my sister was much bigger than me, and I was tiny back then, I had to use a cinch belt around my waist to hold it up. I wore a blouse untucked to cover the cinch belt and the gathered skirt.

In the fifth period, we had to go to the library to look up things for history. When I reached over my head to get a book, the cinch belt undid, the skirt fell on the floor, and I was standing there in my underwear. Everyone in the room killed themselves laughing. I hitched up my skirt, left the school, and didn’t go back for two days, as I was so embarrassed.

Would you rather be a bird or a fish? Why?

I would rather be a bird because the thought of being underwater all the time scares me. A bird can soar and see all kinds of wonderful things. Whereas a fish in a river doesn’t get to see much that’s interesting. And I shudder at the thought of being on a hook or eating a worm.

If you were an Olympian, what sport would you compete in?

I’d be a cross-country skier because I’ve already hit a car, so what other horrible thing could happen to me? Plus, as my husband always said, he could never get lost while skiing as he only had to follow my butt prints in the snow. As an added bonus, the other Olympic skiers would have no problem staying on the trail if they were following me.

You’ve just won the lottery. What would you do with the windfall?

Hoping I’ve won a lot of money, after I’ve gifted my family members, I would build houses for the homeless, and I’d give money to the OSPCA, the Pembroke Regional Hospital, and CHEO. That’s after I’ve paid my tithe to my church, of course.

If you could use a time machine to travel to any time, past or future, what era would you visit and why?

I would like to go back to the 1960s. It was a more innocent era. People didn’t have to lock their doors, they weren’t as mercenary as they are now, and neighbours helped neighbours. TV shows were innocent, and they didn’t start until four o’clock in the afternoon — after the test pattern. And people weren’t glued to computers and cell phones. And back then, I only weighed 98 pounds soaking wet!!!

Do you have any phobias?

I am very claustrophobic, which is a challenge. Especially when having an MRI. Elevators really trouble me when they get stuck between the floors, like the old elevator in the Lorraine Centre.

Speaking of elevators, I was blessed to be invited to the Governor General’s for lunch in the tent room. The purpose was to celebrate the opening of their new elevator for people with mobility issues. I had taken some ladies from a senior’s home in Smiths Falls, and they were to sit in their wheelchairs and watch the elevator’s Christening. A few of us got into the elevator with Ed and Lily Schreyer, the Governor General and his wife at the time. It got stuck between the floors, which left me panicking and muffling a scream. Meanwhile, the press was laughing. To this day, I can’t go into anything enclosed.

Thanks for sharing with us, neighbour Gloria.

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Next week, we welcome Debbie Estabrooks.