‘Extraordinary ordinary’ woman inspires family to create Fanshawe College bursary

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April Paton wasn’t a household name. 

The 59-year-old mother, foster parent and developmental service worker didn’t seek the limelight or glowing recognition from her community. But she brought her best to her work, built close bonds with those around her and made a lasting impression on the lives she touched.  

 She led “an extraordinary ordinary life.” 

“I think the world needs more Aprils,” said John Paton, her brother.  

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“There’s a lot of regular people out there who do tremendous things for their community, everything from coaching hockey to helping out in shelters. April was one of those people.” 

Paton, who died in May after a two-year battle with ovarian cancer, began her decades-long career as a developmental services worker with a diploma from Fanshawe College. 

So, each year for the next five years, the Paton family is funding a Fanshawe bursary for two young women in the developmental services worker program who demonstrate financial need. The bursary will cover the full tuition costs of two students enrolled in the two-year program. 

“People are also donating to Fanshawe in April’s name. The money they donate will go to the bursary. We’re hoping this can go a lot longer than five years,” said John Paton, a former publisher of The London Free Press. 

Paton spent the majority of her working life at the Child and Parent Resource Institute (CPRI) in west London, helping children and families through difficult and complex situations, her brother said. 

She was generous with her time and a source of guidance and support for her co-workers. Paton was recognized with an award from the Ontario Public Service Employees Union in 2019. 

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“The hallways at CPRI are full of people that she mentored in one way or another,” said Aimee Medeiros, who met Paton more than 30 years ago, when she first arrived at CPRI as a student. 

“She was a believer in giving others the confidence to do it on their own. . . . It was her confidence in me that made me believe in myself.” 

Paton took an early retirement at 57. She and her husband Ian had bought a farmhouse just outside of Wallacetown and were fixing it up bit by bit, her brother said. 

“Then, she decided that if she was going to have a farmhouse, she might as well have chickens,” John said. “Then, she built a chicken coop and everyone in the family living in the area had free eggs for life.”   

She wasn’t more than a few months into her retirement when she began to feel unwell. A trip to St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital emergency room in April 2022 prompted blood tests, then a dire diagnosis, Stage 4 ovarian cancer.  

“Working with her doctors, she elected for very aggressive chemotherapy and various therapies. They were tough, but she earned herself a couple more years of life,” her brother said.  

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And she made those years count.  

She and her husband travelled and loved long car trips through Canada and the Great Smokey Mountains in Tennessee. She spent time with her sisters, mother, her son and foster sons.  

Friends came to help around the house, do chores, bring food and spend time with April, her brother said.  

Always an independent spirit willing to take charge, when it was clear her time was running out, Paton opted for assisted death in May.  

“April was in charge of her life pretty much from the time she could talk, right to the end. Her family respected her choice,” her brother said. “She was in her farmhouse, propped up in bed, looking out the window to where the horses are. She chose her moment.” 

In the weeks before her death, the family brought up the idea of a Fanshawe scholarship for students with financial barriers in the developmental service program.  

“She thought about it, she didn’t say yes right away, but then agreed it would be great,” John said. “Before her death, April knew we were going to pay for the entire tuition for at least one student a year for five years.” 

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Fanshawe is honoured when alumni or others in the community fund a bursary, said Gillian Sneddon, executive director advancement and alumni.  

The college, which has 43,000 students, grants more than $5 million each year in scholarships, awards and bursaries to students. For many students who receive bursaries, the funds are the difference between pursuing post-secondary education or not.  

“Well over 1,000 students receive some sort of support from Fanshawe’s bursary program,” Sneddon said. “We continue to see a very large percentage of our students who could use financial support.”  

Sneddon was the point of contact at Fanshawe for the Paton family when they decided to fund their bursary. Some senior staff in the developmental service worker program remembered Paton or had interactions with her through her work at CPRI.  

“The work that she did with her DSW program credentials was so incredibly meaningful, important and difficult,” Sneddon said.  

“I think the fact that John and members of the family decided to honour her life by setting this up is incredible. Philanthropy like this acts as a beacon to others to demonstrate what is possible.” 

Medeiros would love to meet and mentor the student recipients of the April Paton bursary.  

“I’d love for these students to know who April was,” she said. “The strength she had over the years, the tenacity she had for every project, her never-complain motto, her kindness that everyone felt and her zest for life.”   

jbieman@postmedia.com
@JenatLFPress

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