I knew Jerry Young for 13 years, since the Family Coalition Party of Ontario had a small office on Dundas Street East in downtown Toronto. He was on the executive of the party as vice-president, president and past president for most of those years.

Jerry’s approach to business and to politics was very direct and professional. You did not have to guess what was on his mind, and certainly his heart was in the pro-life cause. He felt the responsibility for all the people in Ontario supporting pro-family political action and relying on the few of us to make things happen. When he stepped down as president in 1997, he lasted only a few months before realizing that his active help was needed again. He wanted to do the best for the supporters of the party.

Jerry was in the trenches fighting a seemingly impossible battle without reward, because he knew that many children’s lives depended on us – children he would never know in this lifetime. But what kept him going was the hope that a moral government will come one day – a government that will respect the dignity of all human beings, from conception to natural death.

As it is for all of us, once Jerry knew the truth, he had no choice. No other voluntary work was more important to him than doing his best to reverse the atrocity of abortion, camouflaged by politically correct lies. He knew that liberation from immoral rulers one month earlier might mean thousands of lives saved in the future. But in spite of the importance of the work, Jerry did not believe that he was irreplaceable. He believed he was merely an instrument in God’s hands.

Jerry’s precision and attention to details, especially his wisdom with budget and business matters, earned him a reputation of excellence with the rest of us. If a plan went through Jerry’s revision, there was a good chance it would work.

Though Jerry tolerated no sloppiness, there was still a mellow part of him, with a good sense of humour, which came out at banquets, summer picnics and other happy occasions. We could only glimpse at what his wife and children had the good fortune of experiencing up close: the tranquility of a clear conscience, every day of his life and when he was close to death. Jerry did not have to change or convert at the end; he was ready. He was a devout Christian at all times, not just on Sundays, not just when in need. He maintained a level head, curiosity, interest, peace and good spirits, to the end – the best possible epilogue to an exemplary life. I would like his friends, relatives, children and grandchildren to know and remember that.

Giuseppe Gori is leader of the Ontario Coalition (Family Coalition Party of Ontario).