EDITOR’S NOTE: Manitoulin is being transformed with the influx of new residents and business owners who bring with them fresh ideas, experiences and perspectives that are enriching the area. Some individuals and families are still unpacking boxes, having only moved in the past month or two, while others made the move over the last few years and are now comfortably established in their new communities. Here is one of their stories.
Wendy Thorn (nee Smith) can only conclude that her parents were prescient when they named her at birth, given that the name means ‘wanderer.’ That’s something she has excelled at as she has moved from community to community across North America her entire life.
Wendy was born and spent her early years in Kapuskasing. She moved frequently during childhood as her father’s job with Bell Canada saw them later posted to Kirkland Lake, Sault Ste. Marie and Iron Bridge, all places where she reveled in being close to nature. The North inspired the creative spirit of the young artist, who took up oil painting at the age of 12.
Despite her love of art, Wendy pursued a more practical career following graduation from high school. She began an accounting program through Sir Wilfred Laurier University while also working in the Kitchener Board of Education’s accounting department. Through her studies she met Brent Thorn, who also was studying accounting and simultaneously working at BF Goodrich. Following a quick courtship, the couple married in 1979 and soon after moved to St. Catharines where Brent was assigned to a special BF project and Wendy settled down to raise a family.
By the time the couple’s daughter Heather was born in 1981, they had moved to Owen Sound where their son Colin was born two years later. Brent had switched jobs and was working for General Signal, while Wendy initially ran a restaurant the duo bought in 1987 before she moved into the health field working as a nursing aid in an area nursing home. Being so close to Brent’s hometown, they uprooted again and settled in Wiarton for several years before Brent was offered a position with his company in Pitsfield, Maine in 1992.
“Being the adventurous Canadians we were, we jumped at the chance to move again and headed south to the US,” says Brent, with Wendy, piping in “even though it was taking me further and further away from home in Northern Ontario.”
Brent’s career saw him promoted repeatedly, necessitating even more moves over the next roughly 30 years to Connecticut, followed by North Carolina and, later, a return to Connecticut where he had by then moved into the precious metals field engaged in acquisitions. When that firm downsized, the family was obliged to move yet again, this time to New Jersey where he worked in glass manufacturing and, later, to Delaware where he was employed by Amazon as manager of a fulfillment centre.
Wendy continued to work in nursing until early 2001 when she was ready for a career change and trained as a flight attendant. She had just started working for American Airlines based in Boston when 9/11 happened. The tragedy struck close to home, as she had flown the flight to LAX, the route one of the planes flown into the twin towers was on. Furloughed after the horrific event, Wendy tried her hand at everything from working in a grocery store to a dog kennel, to a periodontist’s office and flower shop for the next two years. By 2003, she decided to return to airlines and rejoined American Eagle as a flight attendant where she remained for the next 19 years before retiring in 2022.
Both Wendy and Brent were ready to return to Canada by this time and initially moved to Burlington. However, Wendy’s love for Northern Ontario had never faded and she was anxious to make her way back to the region, particularly because their son had married a girl from Espanola and his family was living in the North.
“We had come up to visit our son and, especially, our little granddaughter, in 2020 but had to isolate for two weeks as it was during the height of COVID. It gave us time to really think about how much we wanted to be closer to family after all our years in the US,” says Brent.
“I told Brent that, after following him across the continent throughout his career, it was time for me to return to the north in retirement,” adds Wendy. “I wanted to get back where my spirit belongs.”
With the decision made, Brent was able to transfer to Amazon Canada where he is currently employed in logistics for Amazon Air, which ships cargo across western Canada. The position enables him to work remotely from home and, as needed, from either Calgary or Vancouver where the company’s operations are based.
The final decision—and Wendy insists this is their final move—was where to live in Northern Ontario. They settled on Little Current, just a half hour drive from their granddaughter in Espanola. The couple had already bought property in town in 2019 while visiting their son. The location was ideal as Brent had grown up in Wiarton and was familiar with Manitoulin and it fit Wendy’s northern criteria.
While the Thorns were ready to have a new, ‘forever’ home built, it took a while before their dream came true. They arranged to buy a prefab house, but the delivery was long delayed due to the pandemic. They finally took possession in July 2023 and moved in permanently in September.
After being out of the country for 30 years, Wendy couldn’t be more delighted. “I didn’t think I’d ever get Brent up here, but he knows how much it means to me. And now he absolutely loves it too, thankfully!”
While Brent continues to work, flying in and out of Sudbury when he needs to travel, Wendy has immersed herself in Island life, joining the Manitoulin Fine Arts Association and pursuing opportunities to display her artwork with the Northern Ontario Arts Association.
The only small wrinkle in their fulfilling new lives is being so far from their daughter and her family, particularly their second granddaughter, who live in Orlando, Florida. They make frequent trips to visit back in the US but have no plans to uproot again now that they’ve found their ‘little piece of heaven.’
Heather Marshall and her husband worked as journalists and consultants in the National Capital Region for more decades than they care to admit before making their Sandfield cottage their permanent home. A lifelong learner, Heather loves discovering new things and people and relishes the opportunity to write about newcomers to the Manitoulin. If you would like to share your story or know of recent arrivals we should meet, send a message to HAMarshall@proton.me
by Heather Marshall
