It also remains, all these years later, one of the saddest. Bert Doerksen was the type of person you could spend an entire day just talking to, soaking in his wisdom and life experience, and still find yourself wanting to know so much more. Of course, I met Doerksen under the most tragic of circumstances. And there’s no doubt he was plenty lonely and happy for the company. And so I listened intently during what would become several lengthy visits to his Winnipeg home. They were conversations I will never forget. And the fact he trusted me to share some of his most personal thoughts and feelings at an unbelievably trying time in his life is a responsibility I didn’t take lightly. Doerksen’s case made national news and triggered debate on a controversial issue that still very much exists today. It was truly an honour to tell his story. Bert Doerksen’s handwriting is remarkably neat as he begins to describe the heart-wrenching end to his 59-year marriage inside a tidy Winnipeg bungalow.
