Well-Known Peterborough Family Creates Fundraiser for Hospice Peterborough

In honour of the late Jan Paris, the local family who founded and owns Paris Marine in Lakefield has pledged to match donations to the Hospice monthly giving program until the end of February.

At age 73, Jan was a healthy and vibrant Peterborough woman who enjoyed volunteering, painting, taking trips with her husband to their second home in Florida and spending as much time as she could with her beloved grandchildren.

After getting an all-clear from a physical in July 2019, however, she’d learn by the end of the year that she had a rare form of leukemia. The Paris family say they relied on Hospice Peterborough services throughout Jan’s illness and when it was time to grieve.

The Paris family: Jan and Bill Paris with daughters Tracey, Deborah and Julie. (photo courtesy Hospice Peterborough)

“I don’t know how we would’ve gotten through this without Hospice Peterborough,” says Bill Paris, her husband of more than 50 years. “It’s the kind of organization that you don’t know much about until the time comes that you need them.”

To honour Jan’s memory, her family has initiated the “For the Love of Jan” fundraiser for Hospice Peterborough and has pledged to match all donations made to the monthly giving program, up to $10,000, until the end of February. To date, more than $6,000 has been received.

Jan and Bill Paris created more than 50 years’ worth of memories together. (photo courtesy Hospice Peterborough)

All donations to “For the Love of Jan” will be directed to programs that support children and teens, an area for which Hospice Peterborough receives no government funding.

The groups support youth in our community who have experienced the death of someone close to them and—often through arts-based activities—help them manage their feelings and behaviours. Through the pandemic, Hospice continues to offer these services virtually either one-on-one or in small groups.

Jan Paris with her granddaughter Kensington. (photo courtesy Hospice Peterborough)

Hospice Peterborough executive director Hajni Hős thanks the Paris family for sharing their deeply personal story and for giving back to the community in memory of a loved one.

“It is fitting to direct these funds to children and teen groups in honour of a cherished mother and grandmother who devoted herself to her family,” Hős says. “When children in our community can better manage their grief, we all win.”

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