Haldimand family donates $1 million to new hospice

The Williamson family recently presented a $1-million donation to Norfolk Haldimand Community Hospice executive director Andrea Binkle, second from right.

J.P. Antonacci

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Williamson family had already cemented their legacy by donating 10 acres of land on their third-generation family farm east of Jarvis to be the future home of Haldimand-Norfolk’s first hospice.

Turns out they were just getting started.

The Williamson siblings recently committed a further $1 million toward the $14-million building fund in honour of their late parents, Norma and Drew.

“Every person I speak with about the Williamsons says the same thing - you would never meet nicer people,” said Andrea Binkle, executive director of Norfolk Haldimand Community Hospice.

“Their children are carrying that same spirit forward to build a future where every person in our community can experience dignity and comfort at life’s end.”

Alan Williamson said he and his father had talked about giving the hospice land next to the farm machinery dealership Drew Williamson co-founded in 1950. But the process dragged on as the hospice committee evaluated competing offers, and the longtime Jarvis Lion died in May 2023 at age 93 with a decision yet to be made.

“I was very surprised at all the people who came through the funeral home and said, ‘It’s too bad your dad didn’t get to see his dream come true,’” Alan said.

“I really thought it was almost a secret between him and me. I didn’t realize he talked to that many people about it.”

Hearing so many of his father’s friends mention the hospice project galvanized Alan to try again.

“I made a promise and commitment to myself to take one more swing of the bat on this one,” he said.

He added that Haldimand County staff balked at the family’s first proposal due to zoning issues, so he earmarked a different 10-acre parcel - zoned industrial rather than agricultural - to be severed and donated.

“They were extremely receptive this time,” Alan said.

His siblings, Debbie and Eric, were equally enthused about donating the land and committing $1 million from Drew Williamson’s estate toward the hospice.

“It didn’t take much convincing,” he said of the plan meant “to honour what I believed to be his wish and will.”

The 10-bed, 16,000-square-foot hospice will be called Williamson House.

“That was the only stipulation I had all along for the money and property,” Alan said. “It honours all of our family that’s lived on the farm.”

In the meantime, hospice administrators have set up shop inside the Williamson farmhouse, providing what staff and volunteers describe as a “homey” atmosphere.

With the latest donation, the fundraising campaign reached $6 million.

The hospice will receive $1 million from the province toward the cost of construction, and Binkle recently petitioned Norfolk and Haldimand councils to each contribute $750,000.

Now retired from the family business, Alan is busy clearing walking trails on the donated land while eagerly waiting for construction to start next spring.

“Even a few months (delay) on a project like this, there’s going to be half a dozen people who don’t get a chance to use this (hospice),” he said.

“Within a five-mile radius of Jarvis this year alone, there’s been five people I know under the age of 60 that’s used a hospice in either Woodstock, Brantford or Hamilton. They and their families would have used something back here.”

Alan said he hopes other business owners will join the effort now that the project has moved to a more tangible stage.

“The public has been very supportive and very generous,” he said. “But now they’d like to see a shovel in the ground.”

J.P. Antonacci is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter based at the Hamilton Spectator. The initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.