Many people have memorial services after they have passed, but not many have a “Thank You” party to celebrate all of the wonderful things they have done while they are still here to enjoy it. The family of Lion Shorty Jodouin, as well as the Lions Club of North Bay, Golden Age Club, Elks Club and several others, decided to celebrate the life and accomplishments of Shorty with a wonderful party.
For those of you who do not know him, Eli “Shorty” Jodouin was born in 1937 in Sturgeon Falls. His family moved to North Bay in 1941 and there he stayed. In 1952, he had his first job as a certified electric motor rewinder at 65 cents an hour. He continued to train and became an electrician. In 1955, when North Bay built the North Bay Memorial Gardens, Shorty was one of the ones hired to install the electrical wiring. He worked at the gardens for 50 years in addition to starting his own electrical business called Shorty’s Electric, before his first retirement.
While he worked as an electrician, he employed many young men from the community to train them as electricians. Some of these men gave testimonials at his party including one man who credited Shorty with giving him a career and the life he has today. He also employed many of the hockey players from the gardens with summer jobs to help them save up money for their schooling and hockey.
Shorty was also a popular DJ for 55 years before retiring (again). He loved music and has written many songs, some even going to Nashville. He was also inducted into the Nippissing Country Music Association Hall of Fame in 2011. One of the highlights of this career according to his family is when he got to sing “Picture in a Frame” with Moe Bandy on stage. They had the curtains closed at first and Moe sang the 1st part and Shorty sand the 2nd. No one knew there were two different singers until they opened the curtain. This was “Shorty’s song” from that day on.
If you are wondering what this has to do with Lions, well Shorty joined the North Bay Lions in 1967 and is still an active member after 57 years. Although his family wants him to slow down, this is the one organization he is not giving up. During his years as a Lion, he has been presented with the Helen Keller Award, Melvin Jones and Judge Brian Stevenson awards. He has held positions as President, Zone Chair, Region Chair, Vice President, Board of Directors and any committee that needed his help. He has volunteered for the clubs fundraising and community events including the pancake breakfasts, telethon, tag day, shopping sprees, pack sacks, Christmas parades, dances in which he was the DJ or his group played, and too many others to mention here.
Some things people did not know about Lion Shorty was his philanthropic side. He was always generous with his time or donating prizes to the club for fundraisers, but here are a few things this reporter did not even know. Lion Shorty ran dances with a small group from Redbridge, Ontario to raise money for the Daffodil Lodge at the HSN Cancer Center. He donated his time as the DJ and they raised over $133,000.00 to donate. In addition, he paid for tickets each year to the Country Music festival in North Bay and donated them anonymously to families that could not afford otherwise to go. He helped to raise money for a local boy that needed a Cochlear Implant and that boy’s mother made the cake for the Thank You party.
Shorty was recognized with several certificates from the province, city and federal representatives. In addition, the North Bay Lions also presented Shorty with another award for his long running service with TV Bingo in North Bay. He has been working at this bingo since it started in 1969 and has only retired (again) from this after 55 years, due to health issues.
Shorty is now taking a break from all of his former groups, except the Lions. When I visited him in the hospital recently, he was looking forward to moving into a retirement home due to his issues with walking. However, he assured me that if he had to take the handitransit, get a ride, walk or crawl, he will still be at the North Bay Lions meetings that start again in the fall. A dedicated Lion that all who know him, love him. Looking forward to many more years Lion Shorty.
