Some in the community know him simply as Grandpa, but Bud and Mattie McGowan are happy to finally know him as Roger Sicard.
The couple had been looking for Sicard for about a month after a chance encounter at the downtown Chilliwack Shoppers Drug Mart because they wanted to give him their motorized scooter.
“We got such a good deal on it, so we’re passing it on,” said Bud in the lobby of Sicard’s building.
But after doing their best to try and locate Sicard and coming up dry, Mattie says she came up with the idea of contacting The Chilliwack Progress for help.
“I thought the worst that could happen would be they’d say no … but they didn’t.” And on Wednesday, Dec. 5, The Progress published an article online reaching out to the community for assistance in locating the man for the McGowans.
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Twenty-four hours later, The Progress had six different people reach out because they knew exactly who the McGowans were looking for, but it was Michelle Craven, the cosmetics manager at Shoppers, who ended up bringing everyone together.
“I am … positive that I know who you were looking for in the article,” wrote Craven in an email, and before long, she’d managed to located Sicard’s nephew, who in turn helped the McGowans speak directly with Sicard.
“I just about passed out when (my nephew) told me!” exclaimed Sicard.
“I didn’t remember him at first,” he continued, “but once he said his name, I remembered him. We didn’t talk for long that day, only like five minutes.”
But those five minutes were enough for Bud, who saw Sicard’s need for a motorized scooter: when the two first met, Sicard was using a walker and had to balance his oxygen tank on the front.
“Even my doctor tried to help me get a (motorized scooter),” said Sicard. “This will help big time with my oxygen … and will help me be more mobile.
“It’s like an early Christmas gift,” he added, as he thanked the McGowans.
“We’re just so happy it all worked out,” said Mattie with a smile.
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