This Windsor man had a final wish: To help Santa spread cheer for one last Christmas
CBC
For the last time, Windsor, Ont., resident Gerry Lalande donned a red suit, just like jolly old Saint Nick, in the hopes of spreading some holiday cheer.
It's what he's done every December for 34 years: Helping Santa bring joy to those both big and small by paying them a visit and wishing them a Merry Christmas.
"He went all out to be Santa," said Melissa Lalande, one of his daughters.
"He'd have cotton balls in his mouth to change his voice, Vaseline on his eyebrows with baby powder ... [and] big padding to put on the weight."
This year was no different — except this time, Gerry knew it would be his last Christmas.
But before we tell you how this story ends, let's take you back to where it began.
Born in Sudbury, Gerry was one of 11 children in his family, his wife Debbie Lalande told CBC News.
There he worked on the railways and in the mines, before eventually getting into construction work.
Debbie and Gerry knew each other in high school, but Debbie said she hadn't been too fond of him at the time. Several years later, their paths crossed again and they were soon engaged.
In the early 1980s they got married, eventually had three daughters and moved to Windsor.
"He was known as Mr. Fix It and my friends used to say ... I should start a business [called] 'rent-a-husband' because he was often gone long hours helping other people," said Debbie.
His family describes him as a jokester, but Debbie says he was also a "kind and gentle soul."
What would become a passion of three decades started in 1989 when Gerry first dressed up like Santa. His family says he travelled to Frankenmuth, Mich. — known for its Christmas decor — to buy a $2,000 suit for the part.
As his children grew up, they had no idea that their old man became the jolly old man when the weather turned cold.
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