They say it takes a village to raise a child and I was the beneficiary of having Lorne and Marie in my life as additional parental role models to help shape my view of the world, of what is right and what is wrong. I was quite a mischief growing up, yet Lorne and Marie still let me play with Duane and Scott, I guess understanding that boys will be boys. And because of my friendship them, my life was enriched, where Lorne inspired my love of camping in my youth, his being a part of catching my first fish, and that guy loved to fish, because I remember another time he took us boys out to the Kananaskis, where it rained hard all day and us three kids whined and complained and went back to the SUV while Lorne remained, determined to catch something, coming back a couple of hours later and whipping up a nice hot meal for us, because that is what a great father does.
Another wonderful trait I noticed about him is he never exploded with extreme emotion if he was upset and always kept his composure when he was angry. It is something that Duane and Scott inherited from him with their approach to everything in life. They too, always seem to maintain an even keel.
One of many things I always looked forward to was the Christmas Eve parties they would put on because the both of them really put on a fine spread of food and drink, with a house full of people who loved and respected them. When I look back nowadays at each of those Christmas Eve celebrations, I cringe a little, for back in the early days of them, when I arrived, I would go around the house and kiss all the ladies on the lips because "it's Christmas" not realizing at the time that a kiss on the cheek was more appropriate, but I have to say I knew of at least one lady that did not mind at all. LOL.
I could go on a lot longer recalling many great memories of how he was a part of providing us with with a wonderful childhood, of his generosity, and most importantly, his friendship, but I want to leave room for others to share their great memories they have of him as well. My world is better because I knew Lorne Hillier.
Love Always, Sean Van Tornhout.
