Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
The Milwaukee Dancing Grannies made their first public appearance since losing four of their members in the Waukesha Christmas parade attack. On Saturday, the group led the Franklin Christmas parade to honour the members taken too soon.
Those members include Virginia Sorenson, Lee Owen, Tamara Durand and Wilhelm Hospel.
CBS 58 spoke with Ali Wachter and Jan Kwiatkowski. Both women have been members of the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies for several years.
Wachter was the one carrying the group's banner in the Waukesha parade on November 21. She says she'll never forget the moment her life was almost taken.
"I just started hearing people scream and I've done enough parades over the years to know the difference between enjoyment that we are yelling we love you kind of things and a horror scream, and it was a horror scream. I heard the tires squeal. I turned around and I saw the car coming for basically me and the banner. I jumped out of the way so I would not be hit," said Wachter.
Hand-in-hand, the grannies decided to move forward together at the Franklin parade.
"We're out there bringing joy to the world, that's what we do. It's important that we're out here, doing what we do. Honouring the mix of joy and bringing joy into the midst of this really dark time," explained Kwiatkowski.
A time now filled with cheers from the crowd as the grannies marched through Franklin. They held a special sign, honouring all four members they've lost.
"To do this you have to love what you're doing and be a person full of life and energy and all of them were," said Kwiatkowski.
And now, the grannies will carry their spirits with every step in every future parade.
"We did not want those four members to be known as that being their last parade. Walking in the parade to honour them and to show their names. To show that they were loved and they belong in this group," said Wachter.
The grannies hope to focus on the silver lining, feeling inspired by a heartfelt message from Kwiatkowski's grandson.
"He said, 'Grandma, I'm really glad I came. Seeing all these people reminds me there really are more good people in the world than bad people.' So if a 12-year-old can do it, we all can," explained Kwiatkowski.
The Dancing Grannies say they've received thousands of messages on social media and are grateful for the support. They've also gotten donations from states across the country. They ask for your prayers this holiday season.
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.