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Clifford Ross Flavelle

by Lindsey from Mississauga

My hero is my grandfather. His name is Clifford Ross Flavelle. My grandpa is my hero because he is a genuine person. Likewise, he doesn't judge people. Another reason is because he is very determined. He was born in 1936, and passed away in 2001. He was diagnosed with cancer two to three years prior to his death. He passed away when he was 65; this year he would have been 72. He was very wise, and he made sure he kept this family together. He once said, "Don't let life lead you, lead your own life."

In my eyes, my grandpa is a genuine person because when I was younger, he was a representative for a huge insurance company. One of his clients was named Fern. He took her in, made her meals, gave her a home, cared for her, and took her to doctor appointments. She was blind. And maybe 17-19 (not sure) years prior to that, she lost her husband. When she eventually passed away, she was cremated, as her husband had been (she had kept his ashes in her dresser drawer). When she was cremated, my grandpa put the ashes together, and the first thing he said with tears in his eyes was, "This is the first time they have been together in 20 years."

Another reason I feel that he is a very genuine person is because when my nanny was getting her surgery for her eyes, and was extremely nervous, my grandfather encouraged her. For about three hours they just sat and talked; after they were finished with their conversation, my nanny walked up to my mom with a huge smile on her face and said, "After talking to your father, I am completely at peace with this whole surgery."

When my sister was born she would cry from 8 o'clock at night until 6 o'clock in the morning. One night my mom really couldn't take it anymore, so she phoned her dad. In less than 5 minutes he showed up at the house and told my mom to get some rest, and that everything was going to be okay. So she did, and the next day she woke up to my sister in my grandfather's arms, and they were both asleep in the chair.

Penultimately, my grandfather is my hero because he is very determined. He was diagnosed with cancer a few years prior to his death. However, during this time he always kept people's spirits up and kept hope alive. It was said that he was supposed to die in a year or so, but he kept going. He was alive to see his youngest daughter get married, which I bet for him was a huge thing. When I was younger he made sure that my sister and I were always happy no matter what. Likewise, he made it so that all the people in his family were happy. He lived with cancer for 3 years and passed away, very abruptly, one night. I was very young at the time, and all I could say to everyone in the room was, "Why are you all crying? He's gone, but he is still with us, he is still here." And it's true - if it wasn't for his determination, this family might have lost contact with each other.

Lastly, my grandfather never judged people. He knew how to treat people the way he wanted to be treated. He always said to me, "Miss Lindsey, make sure you do unto others as you want done unto you." He knew from growing up with the life he had that he would never disrespect people. He didn't stereotype people. If he did, then right now I don't think that anyone would be talking to one of our family members who happens to be gay. In class we talked about stereotyping people and how it's wrong. Also, we talked about how the most stereotyped thing in life today is people being LGBT. In many stories I've heard, parents haven't been very happy with their children's decision to be lesbian, gay or bisexual. However, my grandfather was open to it, he didn't mind. It was his family member, and he was going to be proud of this person no matter what. Therefore, knowing all of this information shows that he does not judge people.

In conclusion to this essay, I would like to say that my grandfather is a genuine person for all of the work and all of the things that he did for people when he was alive. He changed my life for the better. He made me look at the positive side rather than the negative. Furthermore, he was a very determined person because he never gave up on anyone or anything. He would be encouraging to anyone. Lastly, he was a very non-judgmental person; he didn't judge his family for anything, nor did he judge anyone else.

"Don't let life lead you, lead your own life."

Page created on 7/7/2008 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 7/7/2008 12:00:00 AM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.