The Children's Garden in memory of Jenna

Speech by Mike Schryer, July 7th 2013

An Angel has touched us all…

Put love first above all else.

I have had the pleasure of living nine of my adult years with Jenna. Most of you here know what I'm talking about, having known Jenna, she lived with putting love first as her motto. Jenna lived with leading by example: starting with herself, she knew she was not meant to be in the corporate world. With much meditation, hikes in nature, a lot of soul searching and much research into nutrition and living plants, Jenna found her calling. With that, she found and taught me that all that is living is connected. We are all connected. If like becomes like and all is a reflection of itself, then the right congruent thought becomes "Above all else, put love first".

Jenna, in her study of connectedness, found true gratitude from plants and gardening. Jenna learned countless benefits that come through sowing and reaping. She attracted further abundance by having the opportunity of gardening at the Markham Museum that allowed Jenna to express her true nature and passion. She tended to the gardens and started working with the staff with special educational programs offered at the museum. Busloads of children from nearby schools would come to take part in these special programs and learn how our ancestors and pioneers lived with simple basic needs. Jenna loved children and felt at home at the Markham Museum being able to teach them about how to make butter, yarn from sheep's wool, give tours and other activities like snowshoeing in the winter and AppleFest in the fall. She was able to express her love through her services she rendered with gratitude. Jenna truly put love first in everything she did.


How better to practice putting love first when you can support someone who needs you, becoming dependent on others for their survival?
Unfortunately, Jenna became sick and had cancer; an advanced case of Hodgkin's lymphoma. I was not only Jenna's lover but I was also her caregiver supporting her through trials and tribulations. Because Jenna was an example of putting love first, she instilled that motto in me. That year, I did everything I could to help Jenna ease her suffering by comforting her with love. I even planted my first garden with Jenna's mentoring and coaching. This was a true humbling experience. It was through you my friends and family that gave me the strength to keep my head up to maintain a persistent positive attitude and practice unconditional love. We had so much support that I am so grateful for: friends would visit us in hospitals, you even provided food, rides to appointments and supporting us during our busy schedule trying to make ends meet. The town of Markham has great supportive programs to those in need like the CCAC and Evergreen Hospice. Unfortunately, in the end, Jenna passed away December 10th, 2010. Jenna has touched all of our hearts by putting love first above all else.


Through this experience, I got the message: life is short!
Now that's a tough pill to swallow.

It was then that I realized that it is up to us, ourselves, to decide how we want to live this gift of life that was given to us. And what legacy do we want to leave behind for our loved ones and even generations to come? My first initiative was to see Jenna's dream come true - a Garden, but not just any Garden; A special garden that gives abundantly through the years to come, to teach our children to reconnect with mother Earth by planting seeds and see them come to life. To experience the law of sowing and reaping, to find peace and serenity and soak in the abundance of beauty of flowers and the sense of smell they stimulate. To see the bees in flowers spreading and sharing their pollen and see birds live in a safe environment. This garden envisioned by Jenna was in line with offering a garden program all thanks to the Markham Museum, the Friends of Markham and all involved in making this dream possible. Jenna lives on in our hearts and also through this garden that will serve us for generations to come. You will notice upon entering the garden that we have inscribed a stone with "Above All, Put Love First", the lesson that Jenna left behind for us to remember.

Lets ask yourselves: What legacy would you like to leave behind? How do you want to be remembered? If this is the first day of the rest of our lives, what can we do to enrich our lives and the lives of others?

This has all been a humbling experience...

Through my own soul-searching, I realized that it is through our memories that we create and hold on to that govern our lives and feelings.Therefore...
Do you have a positive outlook on life? Do you choose to focus on the light shining on arm fun memories that put us smile interfaces or do we choose to keep the dark moments in life that cannot service? What we think of before we die? Life is short, so what memories can we create today to remember tomorrow? It is through these thoughts that an idea was born.
I, along with my partners, are dedicating the next phase of our lives to help everyone create long-lasting positive memories with family and friends by promoting family unity within every community. Life can be fun so we've created Our F.U.N. World which stands for Families Unite Now to create an environment to connect with like-minded people who want to put love first above all else. You may visit ourfunworld.com for more information.

I will repeat the message I said during Jenna's life celebration: It has been said that if you take the closest people to our hearts and you take their best qualities and put them into one single person, that is what defines you. And each and everyone of you I see some of Jenna's qualities in you.

Jenna has touched our hearts and continues to live on through her children's garden. So what legacy do you want to leave behind?


Enjoy yourselves with the children's garden. It is meant to create positive moments in your life and for generations to come. With your donations and support this garden will be maintained to grow as we all grow and evolve to put love first above all else.

Thank You.

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