Windsor mechanic beats the odds and un-retires

A Windsor mechanic had his retirement plans sideswiped by a health scare. CTV Windsor’s Bob Bellacicco explains.

Glenn Willis, former owner of Willis Service Centre in South Windsor, is happy to be back on familiar ground. “Very lucky, you know. Give thanks every day that I’m still here,” Willis told CTV News.

After 34 years in business, Willis and his family shut down their south Windsor service centre. There was a nice celebration with a lot of well-wishes for the 63-year old as he ventured into retirement. The next day he went to the shop to clean up and was feeling nauseous and sick.

“My wife Eileen came home and saw me, that I was pitch red so she called EMS right away,” Willis explained. “Next thing I know I woke up in Hotel Dieu Grace a week later.”

Diagnosed with a brain aneurysm, Willis was in an induced coma at Windsor Regional for a week before being transferred to Hotel Dieu Grace. Following a stint in rehab, Willis was home at the end of November.

“I felt really lucky when I got home,” Willis said.

He beat the odds - ruptured brain aneurysms are fatal in about 50 per cent of cases according to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation. Of those who survive, 66 per cent suffer some permanent neurological deficit.

That wasn’t the case this time - and after only a few weeks of retirement, Willis became restless.

“He goes... ‘I’m not ready to just retire. I want to have a little bit more of a kicking the can choice as well.' [and I said] ‘Hey, come on in. We’ll try it out, see what happens,‘” said Pete Solly, owner of MacDonald Automotive Supercentre.

Willis has picked the tools back up and is working with Solly at his shop. “I feel a lot more comfortable being back in my environment with the cars and so forth,” said Willis who returned to work in late February. His presence at the shop as a former owner has been invaluable to staff.

“It’s really great when you have a guy like Glenn - [he] has a lot of experience,” said young mechanic Josh Solly.

Willis has also helped office staff; “I was like, oh my gosh, I would have never thought of that. That’s such an excellent idea,” said Laura Hebert. “I look forward to the many more ideas of his years of running a business helping us as well.”

Willis says he would like to start full retirement one day, but for now is thankful to be back in his happy place - because being a mechanic is in his blood.

“It’s been in there for 35 years since I started, so I don’t think I can get rid of it that easy.”