A family has donated 40 acres of land to the city of Kitchener to keep a local park available for generations to come. During a ceremony on Friday, Martin Pathak and his family donated the land at 1111 Homer Watson Boulevard to the city. The land, known as Budd Park, hosts soccer fields, ball diamonds, tennis courts and other recreational spaces. “These are lands that originally the city leased from the former Budd company on a 99 year lease and that lease carried through as Marty and his company purchased it,” Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said. “The lease was a philanthropic lease. We were leasing it for a dollar a year from Budd. But the fact that we now know the property is in the city’s hands and will stay that way in perpetuity and we can continue to make sure thousands of kids, and adults, and families get to enjoy it is amazing and I really want to thank the Pathak family for that.” The Pathak family donated the land in honour of Pathak’s late wife, Joanne DeFrancesco Pathak. “The most generous person that I ever met in my life was my wife, and I can assure you she’s looking down and smiling today because this is exactly what she would have done,” Martin Pathak said. “This was for the children. This is for the community. I want them to use it however they think that they need to use it. But the fact is its available for them and we are very happy to have the opportunity to convey it to them.” A plaque will be installed at the park in memory of Joanne.
