Vince Truant Memorial Scholarship Fund
Donation protected
To know him, was to love him. Vince Truant was a high school teacher for almost 30 years. If you were fortunate enough to be in one of his classes, or on his girls volleyball team, you quickly realized that he cared for each and every one of his students. Vince was a dedicated father, husband, son, brother, uncle, teacher and friend. He always went above and beyond for the people that he cared about.
We are so deeply saddened that Vince is no longer with us to share his passion for history and law or his dedication to his beautiful family but we are comforted in knowing his legacy will live on through memories from his former students, colleagues, family and friends. We felt that it was only fitting that we continue his legacy with the Vince Truant Memorial Scholarship fund.
This is where YOU can truly help us continue his life's work by supporting students now and in the future. No amount is too small and every dollar will go towards this fund.
We THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for all your love, support and generosity. Please take some time to read the very heart felt sentiments of former students and colleagues below.
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"I had the pleasure of being his student at Mackenzie Secondary School from 1992-97. He was always generous with his time, and was eager to offer commendations (albeit, usually in front of the whole class). He was very well liked by students and staff. My mom worked in the office, so I should know!
What really stands out for me though, was that he was able to admit when he didn’t know something. For the ‘93-94 school year MSS was trying out an experimental Quarter system, rather than the old 8x5 year long, or the more common semester system. This meant we only had two classes a day, for 10 weeks. I don’t know how it came to be, whether it was Mr Truant’s suggestion, or something the school had decided on, but as the community Rec Centre was just across the parking lot, swimming became part of the PE curriculum.
This was just fine and dandy for me, because as a synchronized swimmer this would finally be a lesson I could ace. I wasn’t good at volleyball, I was okay at badminton, and I always did poorly on all forms of running (especially that damn Fish Streets run!) Mr Truant, however, was not an especially adept swimmer, and couldn’t put his head under water. He was NOT looking forward to pool time with the whole class of us bozo grade nines. Now the details are a little fuzzy about how this all came to be, but I met up with Mr Truant during a few public swims to help him work on his strokes, and work on his fear of putting his head under the water. I told him that when I was very young I would have the lifeguards check for sharks before I’d jump in, and if it made him more comfortable I would happily search for sharks before he put his head in the water. He seemed to think that was very funny.
He worked at it, and it really wasn’t long before he could do full lengths of proper front crawl. He was so proud of himself. I think I was too young to realize what a big deal it was. Not only him being able to dunk his head under the water, but also that he wasn’t insecure enough to ask a student for help.
I only had to check for sharks once or twice, and I definitely got 100% on that PE section.
It makes me sad to know that he’s not around anymore, but I’m sure he left a positive mark on the hearts and minds of thousands of students." ~ Angela Montgomery
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"I was a student of his in Mackenzie from 1994 - 1999. My mom was on staff in the office at the school and so I got to know a lot of the teachers outside of class time! Mr. Truant is a teacher that has always stood out in my memories. I was hoping to make it out to Prince George for his funeral but sadly am not able to. I will make a donation to the scholarship fund.
I wasn't the strongest student, in fact I struggled a lot to get through tests. I was an athlete and social butterfly. Class got in the way of having fun! Mr. Truant was my History teacher but also my volleyball coach. I remember one semester he would spend almost everyday after school working with me. We always had about 40 minutes between class and volleyball practice and so he suggested that I hang out and help him with things around his classroom. Except I didn't really help him, he was sneaky and used that time to teach me and quiz me!
I was embarrassed that my memory wasn't as good as others and that I didn't learn the way everyone else did but Mr. Truant never once made me feel less than. In fact he taught me that my unique way of learning was okay and nothing to be ashamed of. He taught me that I was a tactile learner and that I need to have an experience to learn and understand the information. He taught me through story and conversation and made things interesting. With written exams he knew where I had difficulty and so he would let me do a verbal exam. He always encouraged me. I even eventually started paying more attention in class and became curious about things that I would have never considered.
Part of what he was teaching me was geography and he used to joke that I will never remember where anything is unless I go there. He was so right! After I traveled to Europe the first time I couldn't wait to tell him about my travels and how I now could remember where certain countries were on the map and how I went to places he taught me in history. Forget updating my parents on my travels, I wanted my mom to send Mr. Truant my updates! Luckily for me she still worked with him so he got to hear about my travels.
I even remember having a heart to heart with Mr. Truant about his relationship with Margaret. All of us on the volleyball team really wanted them to be married! We cared about his happiness because he cared about ours."
~Sara Montgomery
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Grade 9 immunizations
"Vince and I taught together at MSS. We were born one day apart. I am one day older. At one point there was about half a dozen teachers at MSS with birthdays within a week of each other. "Birthday week" was always a lot of fun.
One day Vince and I had our grade nine classes lined up together for grade 9 immunizations. There was a lot of drama in the room. Vince was telling them that it was "nothing to worry about", "Don’t be silly", "Not going to hurt". Sharon Kennedy was the public health nurse doing the immunizations. She asked Vince when the last time was that he got his shot. He said grade 9. Sharon did the math and determined that he was due for his booster shot and perhaps he would like to go first. At which point, Vince turned white and was no longer full of brave words. He then threw me under the bus by proclaiming “but she’s a day older than me“. I had to go first but Vince still had to sit there and reluctantly get his shot in front of 60 grade 9 students that were loving every minute of it. There were no more complaints that day and the drama turned into giggles at Vince's expense." ~Laurie Fox
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"Mr Truant was the best mentor and supporter anyone could have ever asked for. He helped me find my passion in his Law 12 class and convinced me to pursue my criminology degree. He has always been in my corner no matter what and I know that he will always be there cheering for me when I need it. All I have to say is Thank You so much for all you did." ~ Cassidy Brunn
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Vince taught across the hall from me for a lot of years. Each morning, as students came to class, he would be out in the hall, holding his pointer stick he called "The Motivator" and greet every single kid that came to class. He had a smile, a comment (often a little sarcastic) or a story for every kid. And every student smiled back. They absolutely loved him. It pains me to think that I will never see Vince work his magic with students again. He was a great person, and it made him a great teacher." ~Kim Rutherford
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Vince had the warmest smile. I liked him and trusted him the moment I met him. I remember walking down a quiet Friday afternoon hallway at PGSS a few years ago; Vince’s door was closed. I could hear him enthusiastically calling out questions about geography and the class was laughing and it sounded like the best learning environment ever. He was everything a teacher should be.❤️" ~Lynne Affleck
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Mr. Truant was always the kind of teacher to really try and get you engaged in his lessons no matter who you were and I will never forget his very blunt sense of humor either. He was never scared to tell you how it was. He was very tolerant of me and my friends (although he would sometimes join in on our completely off task conversations to make us laugh) and I was usually late to a class and he would see me in the halls and chase me with his good old meter stick jokingly while telling me to get to class He was a truly great teacher, and I am so sorry to you all for the loss. You could always tell he was not going to give up on you, even if you were giving him a slightly hard time with it." ~Ellie Dyck
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As you can see and feel, Vince has touched many lives in his 51 years but especially in the years that he has helped to mold young minds. We all wish we could have had more time with him and the loss will be felt for many years to come. If you would like to contribute to the memorial scholarship please do, every little bit helps.
Who am I?
Vince Truants sisters-in-law Cheryll Turcotte
What will happen to funds donated?
Until the trust account for the scholarship is set up, the funds will stay right here. Once it is activated the funds will go directly into the Trust.
How will the funds be used?
The funds will be used towards yearly scholarships for as long as we can. The more donated, the longer the term and size of scholarships given.
We are so deeply saddened that Vince is no longer with us to share his passion for history and law or his dedication to his beautiful family but we are comforted in knowing his legacy will live on through memories from his former students, colleagues, family and friends. We felt that it was only fitting that we continue his legacy with the Vince Truant Memorial Scholarship fund.
This is where YOU can truly help us continue his life's work by supporting students now and in the future. No amount is too small and every dollar will go towards this fund.
We THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for all your love, support and generosity. Please take some time to read the very heart felt sentiments of former students and colleagues below.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I had the pleasure of being his student at Mackenzie Secondary School from 1992-97. He was always generous with his time, and was eager to offer commendations (albeit, usually in front of the whole class). He was very well liked by students and staff. My mom worked in the office, so I should know!
What really stands out for me though, was that he was able to admit when he didn’t know something. For the ‘93-94 school year MSS was trying out an experimental Quarter system, rather than the old 8x5 year long, or the more common semester system. This meant we only had two classes a day, for 10 weeks. I don’t know how it came to be, whether it was Mr Truant’s suggestion, or something the school had decided on, but as the community Rec Centre was just across the parking lot, swimming became part of the PE curriculum.
This was just fine and dandy for me, because as a synchronized swimmer this would finally be a lesson I could ace. I wasn’t good at volleyball, I was okay at badminton, and I always did poorly on all forms of running (especially that damn Fish Streets run!) Mr Truant, however, was not an especially adept swimmer, and couldn’t put his head under water. He was NOT looking forward to pool time with the whole class of us bozo grade nines. Now the details are a little fuzzy about how this all came to be, but I met up with Mr Truant during a few public swims to help him work on his strokes, and work on his fear of putting his head under the water. I told him that when I was very young I would have the lifeguards check for sharks before I’d jump in, and if it made him more comfortable I would happily search for sharks before he put his head in the water. He seemed to think that was very funny.
He worked at it, and it really wasn’t long before he could do full lengths of proper front crawl. He was so proud of himself. I think I was too young to realize what a big deal it was. Not only him being able to dunk his head under the water, but also that he wasn’t insecure enough to ask a student for help.
I only had to check for sharks once or twice, and I definitely got 100% on that PE section.
It makes me sad to know that he’s not around anymore, but I’m sure he left a positive mark on the hearts and minds of thousands of students." ~ Angela Montgomery
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I was a student of his in Mackenzie from 1994 - 1999. My mom was on staff in the office at the school and so I got to know a lot of the teachers outside of class time! Mr. Truant is a teacher that has always stood out in my memories. I was hoping to make it out to Prince George for his funeral but sadly am not able to. I will make a donation to the scholarship fund.
I wasn't the strongest student, in fact I struggled a lot to get through tests. I was an athlete and social butterfly. Class got in the way of having fun! Mr. Truant was my History teacher but also my volleyball coach. I remember one semester he would spend almost everyday after school working with me. We always had about 40 minutes between class and volleyball practice and so he suggested that I hang out and help him with things around his classroom. Except I didn't really help him, he was sneaky and used that time to teach me and quiz me!
I was embarrassed that my memory wasn't as good as others and that I didn't learn the way everyone else did but Mr. Truant never once made me feel less than. In fact he taught me that my unique way of learning was okay and nothing to be ashamed of. He taught me that I was a tactile learner and that I need to have an experience to learn and understand the information. He taught me through story and conversation and made things interesting. With written exams he knew where I had difficulty and so he would let me do a verbal exam. He always encouraged me. I even eventually started paying more attention in class and became curious about things that I would have never considered.
Part of what he was teaching me was geography and he used to joke that I will never remember where anything is unless I go there. He was so right! After I traveled to Europe the first time I couldn't wait to tell him about my travels and how I now could remember where certain countries were on the map and how I went to places he taught me in history. Forget updating my parents on my travels, I wanted my mom to send Mr. Truant my updates! Luckily for me she still worked with him so he got to hear about my travels.
I even remember having a heart to heart with Mr. Truant about his relationship with Margaret. All of us on the volleyball team really wanted them to be married! We cared about his happiness because he cared about ours."
~Sara Montgomery
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grade 9 immunizations
"Vince and I taught together at MSS. We were born one day apart. I am one day older. At one point there was about half a dozen teachers at MSS with birthdays within a week of each other. "Birthday week" was always a lot of fun.
One day Vince and I had our grade nine classes lined up together for grade 9 immunizations. There was a lot of drama in the room. Vince was telling them that it was "nothing to worry about", "Don’t be silly", "Not going to hurt". Sharon Kennedy was the public health nurse doing the immunizations. She asked Vince when the last time was that he got his shot. He said grade 9. Sharon did the math and determined that he was due for his booster shot and perhaps he would like to go first. At which point, Vince turned white and was no longer full of brave words. He then threw me under the bus by proclaiming “but she’s a day older than me“. I had to go first but Vince still had to sit there and reluctantly get his shot in front of 60 grade 9 students that were loving every minute of it. There were no more complaints that day and the drama turned into giggles at Vince's expense." ~Laurie Fox
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Mr Truant was the best mentor and supporter anyone could have ever asked for. He helped me find my passion in his Law 12 class and convinced me to pursue my criminology degree. He has always been in my corner no matter what and I know that he will always be there cheering for me when I need it. All I have to say is Thank You so much for all you did." ~ Cassidy Brunn
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Vince taught across the hall from me for a lot of years. Each morning, as students came to class, he would be out in the hall, holding his pointer stick he called "The Motivator" and greet every single kid that came to class. He had a smile, a comment (often a little sarcastic) or a story for every kid. And every student smiled back. They absolutely loved him. It pains me to think that I will never see Vince work his magic with students again. He was a great person, and it made him a great teacher." ~Kim Rutherford
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Vince had the warmest smile. I liked him and trusted him the moment I met him. I remember walking down a quiet Friday afternoon hallway at PGSS a few years ago; Vince’s door was closed. I could hear him enthusiastically calling out questions about geography and the class was laughing and it sounded like the best learning environment ever. He was everything a teacher should be.❤️" ~Lynne Affleck
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Mr. Truant was always the kind of teacher to really try and get you engaged in his lessons no matter who you were and I will never forget his very blunt sense of humor either. He was never scared to tell you how it was. He was very tolerant of me and my friends (although he would sometimes join in on our completely off task conversations to make us laugh) and I was usually late to a class and he would see me in the halls and chase me with his good old meter stick jokingly while telling me to get to class He was a truly great teacher, and I am so sorry to you all for the loss. You could always tell he was not going to give up on you, even if you were giving him a slightly hard time with it." ~Ellie Dyck
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As you can see and feel, Vince has touched many lives in his 51 years but especially in the years that he has helped to mold young minds. We all wish we could have had more time with him and the loss will be felt for many years to come. If you would like to contribute to the memorial scholarship please do, every little bit helps.
Who am I?
Vince Truants sisters-in-law Cheryll Turcotte
What will happen to funds donated?
Until the trust account for the scholarship is set up, the funds will stay right here. Once it is activated the funds will go directly into the Trust.
How will the funds be used?
The funds will be used towards yearly scholarships for as long as we can. The more donated, the longer the term and size of scholarships given.
Organizer and beneficiary
Cheryll Turcotte
Organizer
Prince George, BC
Margaret Truant
Beneficiary
