In 1904, Sir Wilfred Laurier predicted, "Canada will fill the 20th century." Less than a decade later, another Wilfred who would embody the promise of those words was born.
The birth took place on the family farm in Little River, just outside Quebec City. Wilfred Rourke, the eldest son of eight children of Edward and Effie Rourke, grew to become a big river, a force of nature that flowed through a century of business, family and community life in his native province.
A quintessential Canadian, Wilfred founded seven successful businesses in the construction and building management industries, yet studiously avoided the limelight.
He parlayed his first job, painting houses, into his first business venture, W. Rourke Ltd., founded in 1946 with the motto, "No job too big, no job too small."
The construction firm has done some pretty big jobs, including work on the Distant Early Warning Line, on Hydro-Quebec's James Bay project and on Bell Canada's underground network. "Smaller" jobs included hospitals, office towers, churches and schools. Many a young Quebecker paid his college tuition working for the company, whose founder never finished high school.
Like Canada, Wilfred was full of surprises. An avid gardener and skilled fisherman, he was also a flamboyant dresser. Wilfred could pull off the combination of fur coat and alligator shoes in any season, and provided a stylish eye when he took his granddaughters shopping.
He was fluent in English and French, as well what colleagues called his "third language." It was a way with words that flowed gently around objections and soothed all until his opponents left feeling confident they could make things work on a handshake.
Wilfred had tremendous faith expressed in an ecumenical philanthropy. He quietly shared his wealth and wisdom beyond traditional channels, giving generously to the Freemasons, to Protestant and Jewish institutions, higher education and health research. Despite his preference for working behind the scenes, Wilfred's good deeds were not unnoticed. In 2002, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal. He kept working and serving until a few months before he died at 97.
Wilfred's most lasting influence may be his contributions to family. Wilfred and his wife Marion spent 58 years together, enjoying a rich family life with their three children, Bryon, Ross and Sheila. His lifeblood continues to flow in an extended family of hundreds who will gather in Quebec City this weekend for another five-year reunion.
The Wilfred from Little River more than fulfilled his promise in the 20th century. We, and Quebec and Canada, are better for it in the 21st.
Carollyne Conlinn is Wilfred's niece and Dereck Hicks is Wilfred's nephew.