Personal Story
from James Lyng
We all have a story to tell, so here is mine.
To become a Chartered Accountant in the early 1950s, one had to article with a CA firm for five years while attending required university courses. Upon completion, you qualified to write the CA exams.
In 1953, while working for a CA firm, I was sent to a wood-logging town on the North Shore of Quebec. During my visits, I met Carol Levesque. We dated during my twice-a-year, two-week stays and wrote letters to each other in between. She admired my high school graduation ring, so I had a gold ladies’ version made for her.
In the spring of 1954, Carol informed me she had met a tall, handsome German engineer and was getting married. Saddened, I moved on, and later that year, I met Louise Goyette.
Carol and her husband later visited Montreal, and Louise and I joined them for an evening out. Carol and Louise became good friends. However, after Carol moved to Germany, all communication ended.
I married Louise in 1957. We had five children together: Danny, Carol, Lorraine, Patricia, and Ricky. Louise was an incredible mother, a talented athlete, and fluent in five languages—she excelled in every way. She was also a black belt in Judo, so at night when bedding down I was careful to ask her first whether she had a headache or not.
In the spring of 1999, Louise was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor. After 42 wonderful years of marriage, she passed away on October 23, 2000. I was devastated and at a loss.
One day in March, while searching the attic of our old farmhouse for Louise’s first golf trophy, I stumbled upon a bundle of old letters tied with a ribbon. To my surprise, they weren’t from Louise—they were from Carol, whom I hadn’t heard from in 45 years. Louise had kept them.
Overwhelmed with emotion, I asked my office staff to help locate Carol. Using computers, we searched in Germany, the U.S., and Canada. On the third day, I contacted Carol’s brother, who was still living in the small town on the North Shore of Quebec. I learned that Carol was now living in Quebec City, alone. Her marriage had ended, and her two children were attending college in Canada.
Our lives reconnected, and we found happiness together. Carol still wears the gold graduation ring I gave her in 1954. She shared that while living in Germany, she had used the ring as proof of her high school graduation to enroll in a university course she wanted to take.
Today, we are proud to announce that we are married. Together, we have seven children, sixteen grandchildren, and twenty-one great-grandchildren, with two more expected in 2025.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story.
Our lives reconnected, and we found happiness together. Carol still wears the gold graduation ring I gave her in 1954. She shared that while living in Germany, she had used the ring as proof of her high school graduation to enroll in a university course she wanted to take.
Today, we are proud to announce that we are married. Together, we have seven children, sixteen grandchildren, and twenty-one great-grandchildren, with two more expected in 2025.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story.
James
James