Santa Canada delivers his last gifts to Mexico
Canadian Glen Fraser died doing what he loved
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After 33 years’ delivering toys and other gifts to children in Mexico, Santa Canada has made his last trip.
Devon, Alberta, resident Glen Fraser, who began delivering gifts to Mexican children with his wife Joyce in 1981, died in January. He was 89.
Every Christmas, he would fill his car and trailer with gifts and drive for five days to Santa Clara, Sonora, and other nearby communities, delivering toys, school supplies and clothes to schools and orphanages.
The annual trek wasn’t supposed to last so long.
The tradition began after he had open-heart surgery, and the prognosis after wasn’t good: he was given six months to live. So he and his wife decided to travel.
After visiting Mexico they decided to return every year for as long as they could to take gifts to children in need. Joyce Fraser died in 1994, but Glen kept the tradition going, assisted by his daughter Gail Fraser, who has made the journey with him ever since.
In 1981 the Frasers started out by handing out presents to 20-25 children. The number eventually grew to about 800, by which time Glen Fraser had come to be known among the local children as Santa Canada.
Gail Fraser said her father seemed to know this year’s journey would be his last.
After passing out presents to hundreds of children, Fraser’s heart gave in.
But he died in Mexico doing what he loved, his daughter said. Children as young as four years old attended his funeral to pay their respects, a sign of the impact he had had over the years.
“As the years go on, I think my dad will still be in their hearts.”
Source: CBC (en), Devon Dispatch (en)
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