Stories

Alphonse Dirse Fund

Alphonse Dirse came to Canada in the late 1940s, having left his native Lithuania to avoid the Russia invasion. Born in 1913, the eldest of five children, he completed his schooling at 15, worked on the family farm and served in the army before making his decision to emigrate. Eventually, he found employment in the mines of Northern Manitoba and worked underground until a mining accident intervened. He then moved to Ontario and finally settled in Hamilton where he worked in a factory until his retirement in 1978. To keep busy, he continued to work whenever possible, usually on the Hamilton docks during the shipping season.

Upon his death in 1989, the Foundation learned of his bequest, a gift for general charitable purposes in the community.

Excerpt from 1991-1992 Annual Report