When Janet Flamand's son, James Daniel Flamand (affectionately known as Sonny), died in 1983, the bereaved mother spent years mourning her son.
Flamand recalled how much her son was teased and bullied over the years.
"James had cataracts in both eyes and had to wear bifocals," she said. "He had a terrible time in school because the kids would tease him about his thick glasses."
Books became his escape.
"James not only really loved to read but he also loved to own books," she said.
In 1996, the semi-retired Flamand wondered how she could keep her beloved son's memory alive.
Then it came to her.
Flamand began hunting down gently used books at flea markets and garage sales. She would buy as many as she could to donate to children all over Canada in James' memory.
"I made up memory stickers in his name and I put them in the books," said Flamand.
Then, because Flamand enjoyed knitting and crocheting so much, she began buying wool and crocheting a blanket and a toque a week. Those cozy blankets would then be donated to women's shelters, here and abroad.
The blankets have also been shipped to orphanages in the Ukraine and beyond. "I've even gone to the Skytrain stations and handed some out," Flamand said.
"Now, I knit 26 of them each year and hand them out a few days before Christmas to young moms in Lansdowne Centre."
The first few years, Flamand would donate toques to each province and territory.
"That would mean I'd knit 338 toques a year," she said. "I have since slowed down and now I send them to only six schools each year, which means 156 toques each year."
Since 1996, the longtime Richmond resident has donated more than 5,000 gently used books and hundreds upon hundreds of puzzles, as well as 300 baby blankets and 2,082 toques.
"Doing this has really helped me to know James is not completely forgotten," said Flamand. "I get a lot of comfort from doing this."
Over the years, Flamand has received numerous thank you letters from across the province and beyond.
Some simply thank her for her generosity and kind heart, others praise her for her "extraordinary tribute" to her son.
Others still tell her how excited the children were to receive the gifted books.
"The responses from the children are the best," she said. "For a minute, when a child opens the book and reads the memory ticker, my son James is remembered."
