Expositor alumnus Diane Sims CM passed away after a life of resilient advocacy for MS, cancer, and accessibility. Her work spanning journalism, literature, and policy earned her the Order of Canada.
EDITOR鈥橲 NOTE: This week marks the volume change for this paper, spotted just below The Expositor鈥檚 front page signature flag, making it volume 147, number 1 and meaning that this newspaper has completed 147 full years of keeping the people of Manitoulin Island informed, maintaining the historical record of the events and goings on in the communities and being an all-around cornerstone for connecting the people and places of the largest freshwater island in the world, and the people who love it. The Manitoulin Expositor is also the oldest continuously published newspaper in Northern Ontario. Each year we highlight a story that features how this paper has impacted people鈥檚 lives. This year, we bid a sad farewell to one of our most accomplished alumni, Diane Sims CM, who not only made a mark on this paper and the Island, but also across the globe.
STRATFORD鈥擧er voice on the phone was weak and unsteady, unsurprising considering Diane Sims CM had been suffering intense pain over the past couple of years from the ravages of multiple sclerosis, yet that voice still conveyed the passion that had propelled the former Manitoulin Expositor editor to the pinnacles of the highest honours our nation can bestow.
It would be the last conversation the authors would have with this most remarkable of women, as our intrepid former editor left this world as she had lived it鈥攐n her own terms earlier this month.
鈥淚 did not know Diane quite as well as my parents did,鈥 admits Manitoulin Publishing owner Alicia McCutcheon, 鈥渂ut I grew up hearing about her exploits and accomplishments after she left The Expositor and I admired her incredible grit and fortitude in the face of unimaginable challenges.鈥
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