Lockdown protocols weren't going to stop staff at the Livita Barrington Retirement Residences from honouring one of their residents for her military service.
Rita Stephenson, 98, has been a resident of the Yonge Street seniors home in south-end Barrie for more than eight years, while also being a longtime supporter of the Royal Canadian Legion. She received a medal for her military service in a small ceremony at the home on Feb. 3.
Livita Barrington general manager Emily De Winter said when the opportunity came to present Stephenson with an award for her military service, they had to find a way to make it memorable.
“We did it over lunch so that we could stay within the guidelines of having people around while Rita got the award,” De Winter told BarrieToday. “Because it was lunchtime, we were able to have other residents, friends of Rita's, seated and observing the ceremony.”
The honour bestowed on Stephenson was a VE Day medal given to all who served in the Second World War.
Stephenson said the medal ceremony was something she would not forget.
“That was so nice to have my friends able to watch me receive the medal,” Stephenson told BarrieToday. “I come from a big family, so growing up I didn't have a birthday party. This really made me feel special.”
Stephenson’s military career was an important one and saw her in charge of making sure soldiers safely made it to their assignments.
She began her service in 1941. When she was 19 years old, Stephenson was sent off to Manning Pool in Ottawa where she learned basic training, such as marching and salutes.
She was then off to No. 6 Service Flying Training School in Dunnville, Ont., just outside of Hamilton.
During her time in the Royal Canadian Air Force, Stephenson worked in the airmen and officers' mess folding the parachutes for the soldiers. The job was extremely important, because any error could result in the death of a soldier. It was a high-pressure job, but she saw the value in what she did.
Stephenson remembers little of that time, but did recall “all of the young men coming from all over the world to learn to fly the planes, and be sent off to England to win the war,” she said.
It was there Stephenson met her husband, Harold, while she was in the air force. Harold's job was to send airplanes out and bring them home using Morse code and hand signals to direct them.
The couple married on Jan. 16, 1943. Stephenson left the air force when she was pregnant with her first child, but after her service went on to volunteer at the legion for 30 years, running the Christmas bazaar as well as euchre games.
She is a lifetime member and an honorary member of the Veterans Club.
De Winter says Stephenson moved into the retirement home and began to run and organize the euchre club at the facility.
“Rita is so beloved here and when we went to have a cake done at the Zehrs on Big Bay Point (Road), they asked what it was for and ended up donating to the medal event,” De Winter said.
“Everyone has such a high respect for our veterans, as well they should," she added.
Livita Barrington intends to have a bigger celebration once it is safe to do so from the threat of COVID-19.
