Puslinch Township residents and officials are mourning the loss of a dedicated community advocate.
Councillor Wayne Stokley, 65, passed away in his sleep on May 29. He leaves behind his wife Barb, two children and five grandchildren.
“On behalf of the township, I offer our sincere condolences to the family, friends and loved ones of councillor Stokley,” Mayor Dennis Lever stated in a press release on May 30.
Stokley was first elected to township council in 2010 and has been a resident of Puslinch Township for over 40 years. To honour Stokley, all township flags will be lowered to half-mast until sunset on June 5, the day of the funeral.
In a May 30 telephone interview, councillor Susan Fielding said it was “a sad day” for Puslinch.
“I think he will be greatly missed. It is a tragic loss for the community,” she told the Advertiser.
At the time of the interview, Fielding, who sat next to Stokley at the council table for the past six years, had just visited the Stokley home.
“As you can imagine, they all feel like they are part of a bad dream,” said Fielding, who explained Stokley went out for dinner with Barb on May 28, “went to bed and never awoke.”
Stokley’s many contributions to Puslinch Township include serving as chair of the municipality’s recreation committee and being an active participant in the county’s Green Legacy tree distribution program. He has also served on the following committees: well protection, Community Oriented Policing, active transportation, Badenoch Community Centre, fire and rescue services, and planning advisory.
“He really cared about the issues and he would have really been a driving force on the township’s master recreation plan,” Fielding noted.
Though his contributions to the township were numerous, Fielding said Stokley’s family “always came first – his kids and his grandkids.”
She added, “I don’t think I met anyone so dedicated to his family. He talked about his family all the time. They were definitely the priority in his life.”
While it may be the last thing on their minds, Puslinch councillors must declare Stokley’s seat vacant at one of its next two council meetings. Within 60 days of the seat being declared vacant, council then must decide to fill the vacancy by appointment or a by-election.
Yet Fielding considers Stokley almost irreplaceable, noting it will be extremely difficult to find someone “with not only his passion, but his knowledge – having been involved in recreation for most of his teaching career.”
She added, “He was really just a good person … I don’t think he had a mean bone in his body.”
In a May 31 telephone interview with the Advertiser, Lever said everyone was shocked by Stokley’s death “because of his keen interest in athletics and being a triathlete.”
In 2015, Stokley was one of 500 Canadians to take part in the Chicago triathlon. Two years earlier he was an Ironman Titanium competitor in Michigan. Stokley was an avid cyclist, runner and a ski and snowboarding instructor. This past winter he completed his Level 2 snowboarding certification.
“He often mentioned at council how recreation was his passion,” Lever said of Stokley.
“We would often joke he was the only member of council who really looked forward to winter. He loved to ski and I would say one of the biggest smiles on his face was as he described his latest ski trip.”
In 1974 Stokley started his teaching career at Galt Collegiate Institute (GCI). He also taught at Eastwood Collegiate (1993 to 1998) and Cameron Heights (1998 to 2000 as a vice principal). He returned to his beloved GCI to finish out his career (2000 to 2005) as a vice principal.
Stokley served on the township’s planning advisory committee from 2006 to 2010. It was during that time Lever met him.
“We got to know each other more during the election in 2010 … Wayne was very good natured, likeable and easy to talk to. I think he was well liked by a lot of people,” said Lever. “We’d often be joking before council meetings … As a councillor, he was reliable, consistent and got his message across.
“He’s been sitting on my left-hand side for five-and-a-half years so it’s going to be a bit of a shock on Wednesday (June 1 – the first council meeting following Stokley’s death).
“We’re going to miss him, there is no question about it … I expect the funeral will be very well attended.”
Fielding described Stokley “as a quiet and reserved kind of person – underlying that was a sense of humour.” She said, “We shared quite a few laughs about things. We shared a lot of frustrations. But in the end, it feels like I lost a part of me.”
She later commented “Wayne used to joke that he has scars on his shins from all the times I had kicked him under the desk. He used to say if I wanted him to keep quiet or say something differently, I would just give him a swift kick.”
Another memory she shared was of “Wayne and I were both on the campaign route one day during election time … Wayne was on his bike and I had my car. All of a sudden … there was torrential rainfall. Wayne never let me live it down that I had abandoned him along the roadside and he had to cycle all the way home. I told him I didn’t have the room for his bike, but he continued to tease me endlessly about stranding him in his moment of need.”
Visitations are scheduled on June 4 from 2 to 4pm and 7 to 9pm at Coutts Funeral Home in Cambridge. The funeral is on June 5 at 3pm at GCI in Cambridge, in the Tassie Hall auditorium.
Donations may be made to The Heart and Stroke Foundation or KidSport in Stokley’s memory.
