We are pleased to announce that Brother Tom Vella-Zarb and family have been chosen as "Family of the Month" for the month of June 1991.
Tom joined the Knights in October 1989, and for the past year has been the Di rector of Church Activities for Council 1412. At present he is the Recorder-elect for the coming year. During his short time as a Knight Tom has helped out in Car Raffle sales for the Arthritis Society, canvassed on the Arthritis drive, helped at blood clinics, Fish Fry's, Festival of Nations and other activities. A couple of activities organized by Tom were the Jesuit memorial Mass and the Clergy Appreciation night.
Tom and Joan were born and married in Malta. This year they celebrate their thirty fifth anniversary. They have five children, and five grandc hildren. Dave is a Brother Knight and manages the repair works at Earl Austin's. Pierre is a self employed computer consultant in Toronto. Alex loves music, but makes his living as an interior decorator. Mike is quite the handyman, and does a lot of carpentry work. Karen has just finished honor courses in Spanish and English at University of Toronto.
Tom and Joan are members of Blessed Sacrament Church where Tom is a Lay Reader. On weekdays however, they go to Mass at St. Joseph's. They are both active in Cursillo, and on several occasions held positions on the Secretariat and were members on Cursillo Teams. For about ten years they have been associates at Holy Cross Retreat Centre at Port Burwell. They both were quite involved with Marriage Encounter, Scouting, where both held various positions, Teleshare (formerly Telecare), and little Theatres in St. Thomas, Wallaceburg, and Chatham. Tom founded the Kent Right to Life Newsletter, and for several years he and Joan were joint editors. Tom is a Eucharistic Minister and Lay Pastoral Visitor at St. Joseph's Hospital. He has been a member of the Drug Awareness Council for Kent for several years. Before her severe illness, Joan was a volunteer with the Kent Children's Aid Society and a Lay Reader at Church.
Tom's career and education are rather eclectic. He holds a Pharmacy degree from the Royal University of Malta, a teacher's certificate from the University of Toronto, and a Master of Education degree from the University of Windsor. He holds various certificates, including the Wood Badge in five sections of Scouting, a driving instructor's licence, a Hospital Department Management Certificate from the Canadian Hospitals Association, and a Television Workshop Specialist certificate from TV Ontario. He was a Pharmacist in Malta, in London, and in Wallaceburg. He worked as a Food and Drug Inspector in Toronto and in Windsor. He taught school in Malta and in Chatham. In his undergraduate years in Malta, he was the business editor of both Lux et Vita, the Catholic Students' Journal, and the Chest Piece, the Medical Students' Magazine. His early retirement due to health reasons, does not seem to have affected his enthusiasm for keeping himself active.
Visits by the five grandchildren are at the same time hectic and a source of joy for both Joan and Tom. They want to be with grandpa to play games on the computer, or help him put books away. At the same time they want to be with grandma to help her cook, or vacuum. Needless to say the food they like best is Grandma's.
Tom's various hobbies include computers, reading, fixing things, photography, and videography. This last one even earned him a "by-line" in the Vision TV series, "The Dream of the Earth". His biography has appeared in various editions of the Malta Who's Who, The International Dictionary of Biography, and the Two Thousand Men of Achievement. Joan's hobbies include cooking, sewing, and knitting.
Our congratulations to this truly fine Family of the Month for June 1991.
Fraternally yours,
Wayne Bushey
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