Tara Jeffrey
When Ashley Marsden decided to honour a beloved school crossing guard who died recently she hoped a few neighbours might attend the Sunday evening vigil.
“This man’s smile and wave lit this corner up every school day,” said the Corunna mother of three, who got to know John Wilson and his dog Bud at the corner of Albert and Birchbank.
“He looked like a man who had just won a million dollars — every single day. I thought it would be nice if we could light up his famous corner once more.”
Marsden posted her idea to Facebook and responses soon poured in.
Word spread so quickly St. Clair Township offered to close the street. The Bad Dog restaurant brewed hot chocolate. St. Joseph’s School donated a speaker system, and neighbours baked treats, prepared candles and offered up lawns.
By 6 p.m. on Dec. 8 the candlelit street was lined with hundreds of teary-eyed residents — from a five-month-old to a woman in her 80s. And from speakers set up in the back of a pickup truck they shared stories about Wilson.
Not only did people know him from his job at the corner, many had grown to love the Mooretown resident from his years driving school bus.
“He was my bus driver from Grade 3 to Grade 12,” said Sydney Taylor, 21. “I was kind of a loner in elementary school and he kind of recognized that. So he asked me to sit at the front and help with the Kindergarten kids.
“We just talked every day, about everything; he really was the highlight of my day,” said the former Mooretown-Courtright and SCITS student. “We developed a real friendship.”
Over the years, Taylor continued to sit up front. She learned of Wilson’s time in the Navy, his work as an electrician, his 1928 Model A car, his beloved ‘Bud’ and the books of ‘ditties’ he wrote, including ‘Odd Man Out’ and ‘Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover.'
Wilson’s first book, ‘The Trails & Trials of John the Bus Driver’ includes an entry entitled “A kid named Syd,” written for Taylor. He even purchased a brick on the St. Clair River Trail, dedicated to all his Mooretown-Courtright kids.
Taylor, who works as a PSW, heard from a client that Wilson had recently moved to Lambton Meadowview Villa, and was in hospital in failing health.
“I went to visit him, and I kind of knew it would be the last time I saw him,” she said.
Friend Bruce White said Wilson, 74, had no known family, other than a sister who died a few years ago. He would invite Wilson for holidays, but he never wanted to impose, so would come for next-day leftovers.
“We'd just go for coffee, tour around the county, and shoot the breeze,” said White. “And he loved going to Parks Blueberries for blueberry pie.”
Longtime Langs Bus Lines colleague Cathy Vickerd said Wilson was always going out of his way to lift up others.
“He helped someone buy medication for their diabetic child; helped another pay for their daughter’s dance lessons, and even helped pay for a student’s Grade 8 graduation dress,” she said. “He hated to see people struggle.”
At the crosswalk in Corunna, a makeshift memorial to John Wilson includes flowers and letters from area children.
“Someone asked me if John had any children,” said Marsden. "I had no clue, but I answered with, ‘Yes. He had hundreds.’"
Editor’s note: Mr. Wilson asked that any donations be given to the Sarnia and District Humane Society. A jar is available at the Bad Dog in Corunna. One of his friends has taken in Bud.
