The Independent

Barb Stewart says Terry Fox has been an inspiration to her.

And that has kept the Petrolia woman walking in the Terry Fox Run for the last 40 years.

Stewart was a nurse in Alberta when Fox started across Canada. She had seen many people with cancer and was surprised by his journey.

“I just felt he was just amazing that he could do that to help raise money, so I though we should all maybe try to do our part and I did.”

She also remembers his death. “I remember feeling grief over him dying because he had tried so hard, gee even now thinking about him when he passed away and I was hoping things would carry on,” she says.

From the first Terry Fox Run, Stewart joined. She walked there until 1992 and then joined the Petrolia Run in 1993. “Terry was an inspiration to me to start volunteering and giving back to my community.”

Sept. 13, Stewart slipped on her walking shoes and completed the 40th anniversary walk early. Because of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions people are being urged to do the event their own way. Most people will participate tomorrow.

When Stewart first started her walk for Terry, no one in her family had been diagnosed with cancer. Today, she remembers three who have passed away.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done for cancer cure; they have come a long ways but they still have a long way to go, but there are still families being affected by it.”