Remembering Hugh Hetherington by Flo Spratt

A wise man, long ago, spoke these words: “A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth: and the recompense of a man’s hands shall be rendered unto him”. (Proverbs 12:14, King James Bible)

This proverb reminds me of Hugh.
Hugh and I worked together in Sound Advice, where we facilitated a monthly support group for keen learners and mentors within the hard of hearing community. We started this group in 2003 in the West Vancouver Seniors’ Centre, and later added a second venue, at North Vancouver’s Silver Harbour. I am particularly grateful for how Providence brought us together, as we complemented each other with our own skills and knowledge.
Hugh also worked in other capacities for the broader Hard of Hearing community.
Let me describe some examples of how this proverb reflects Hugh and his many years of service to our community:

• In our meetings, Hugh eagerly shared his rich and current knowledge of the fast-moving technology in the hearing aid industry. He encouraged us to use tools that he knew could make a difference; for example, specific assistive listening devices that could best fit our needs, maximizing our current aids’ capabilities with assistive listening devices, and other technologies he was familiar with.
• Sound Advice meetings were a highlight for Hugh. After each session, Hugh and I would share reflections of what we learned from those who shared their experiences. He often expressed what he learned from the participants.
• Hugh paid countless visits over the years to homes of those who needed help with connecting their hearing aids to their audio-visual systems. No request for help was too small for Hugh.
• Implementing the loop system in North Shore’s churches, theatres and public meeting spaces was largely due to Hugh’s tireless consulting services for these venues. One only needed to ask; Hugh would fit a consultation visit in his already busy schedule.
• Hugh’s editorship, written articles and publishing the Branch’s “Mountain Ear” newsletter were professionally executed and timely, each issue providing advice, summaries of presentations and notices of upcoming events.
• Hugh worked with and around the various challenges and “obstacles” that appeared over the years. For example, how we could serve the hard of hearing community during COVID with the in-person restrictions. Zoom technology was suggested, and Hugh readily managed and maintained the platform so that we would all stay connected.
• Hugh’s personality, skills and knowledge fitted his role in our branch like a hand in glove. I never witnessed an angry reaction from Hugh to challenging situations; his calm demeanor gave me confidence that the situation would be resolved successfully.

Hugh’s Gifts and His Lasting Impact
Throughout the many years Hugh devoted to our community, he distinguished himself through his exceptional generosity and unwavering commitment. He freely shared his extensive knowledge, always encouraging others and offering reliable support whenever it was needed. Hugh dedicated his time and resources selflessly, ensuring that members of the hard of hearing community had the assistance and guidance they required.
Those who knew Hugh held him in high regard, admiring his kindness and deeply appreciating his efforts. In turn, Hugh responded with the same warmth and affection, continually offering his unique gifts and giving of himself without hesitation. His consistent generosity and caring nature left a profound and enduring impact on all whose lives he touched.

The Proverb
Hugh was content, indeed, satisfied to be used for the benefit of others, especially the many people connected to the Hard of Hearing community on the North Shore and beyond. He often spoke to me that he received more back than he gave! More than once, when offered some recognition for his services, he would decline, telling me he did not need such recognition: his joy was to serve. Fulfilling the proverb above, Hugh was a man who truly was satisfied with good by the gifts that he gave.

About Flo: Flo Spratt joined the North Shore branch in the late 1990s. It was not long before she and Hugh recognized their shared desire to make a greater impact on the HOH community, leading to the creation of Sound Advice in 2002. They formed a strong partnership: Hugh brought his expert knowledge of audio technology, while Flo contributed her background in special education and public speaking. Together, they provided effective solutions to the real world challenges faced by individuals with hearing loss.

Celebration of Life

On April 27, in lieu of a Sound Advice meeting, a celebration of the life of Hugh Hetherington was held at Silver Harbour Seniors’ Centre.  The celebration was facilitated by Dr Ruth Warick, president of CHHA-BC, and Alan Dion, president of CHHA-NSB.  Close captioning was enabled by Leah from Accurate Realtime Reporting Inc. Tea, coffee & cookies were on hand.  Attendees were asked to sign a Remembrance Book.  

Hugh had requested that his family not have a funeral nor place an obituary in the paper, but we, the members of  CHHA-NSB,  needed a way to say goodbye to Hugh and Hugh’s son gave us permission to hold this celebration. We were honoured to have Hugh’s son and daughter-in-law, Paul and Melissa, present.

Celebrations of life are tricky.  They are sad because we are aware of how much we miss the person.  They are joyous because we remember all the things that made that person special to us.  They are comforting in that we see the common threads in the stories people tell.  They are enlightening because we hear stories we hadn’t heard before and we see another side of the person and that person becomes more special to us.  And they are thought provoking because we can see how that person touched each and every person present.

Hugh’s celebration of life was all that and more.  A number of people spoke and following is my recap of their presentations.  I am laughing as I write this because Hugh did not like the word “recap”-said he had never heard it and very reluctantly let me use it in the newsletters when an article was a summary of a meeting.

First up to speak was Mike Hocevar, current board member of CHHA-NSB, and past president of CHHA-NSB.  Mike has a profound hearing loss as well as being legally blind.  He met Hugh in 2010 and within a year had joined the board.  Mike spoke of how very proud Hugh was of our branch and what a real guiding factor he was in shaping the programs that we run.  Hugh encouraged initiative but he always wanted the work we did to be manageable. Hugh and Flo Spratt ran the Sound Advice meetings and Mike called it a “one-two punch”.  Flo spoke about coping strategies.  Hugh talked about the latest hearing aid technology.  Mike thought Hugh’s love of tech started when he was working for BC Tel and computers were being brought in.  He continued learning about technology into his retirement and brought that knowledge into his roles with CHHA-NSB.  He learned about loop systems and set them up for the Sound Advice meetings.  He also took it upon himself to get involved in setting up loop systems in churches.  He also went out to people’s houses to help install TV links.  Mike emphasized that Hugh did not take money for any of this; he did encourage people to make a donation to our branch.  And when COVID bulldozed us, Hugh was up to the challenge and learned about Zoom and set the Sound Advice meetings up on Zoom.

Another fantastic thing Mike felt that came about because of Hugh’s leadership was our evening meetings of guest speakers.  These meetings were held 5 times a year at the Summerhill retirement home up until COVID, then they took up a platform on Zoom.

Mike pointed out that Hugh also served as treasurer, and at different points of time, President.

Mike also wanted us to know that Hugh did have a little bit of life outside of CHHA-NSB.  He loved music and often listened to the BBC broadcast for symphony orchestras.  He enjoyed walks on the West Van sea wall and that kept him fit.  Mike and Hugh shared a love for British Columbia Maritime history and West Coast boats.  In recent years, he joined the SS Master Society and worked on preserving and restoring the1923 last steam tugboat, the SS Master.  He loved both Japanese and Chinese food.

Mike gave a shout out to Paul and Melissa for caring for Hugh in his last months so that he could stay in his beautiful West Van bungalow.  We all thank them.

Mike emphasized how passionate Hugh was about his work with the hard of hearing community.  “We’re all the beneficiaries from it.  We are so grateful that he embraced the concept of livable communities for the hard of hearing in West and North Vancouver.”

Next up was Ping Lau, a current board member of CHHA-NSB, the new kid on the block as he referred to himself.  Ping spoke humorously of his journey to get hearing aids and becoming a member of the North Shore branch of CHHA and joining the Sound Advice meetings on Zoom.  He came out of each session learning something new, including how many ways there was to lose your hearing aid.  Several months later, Hugh asked Ping to join the board of directors, much to Ping’s surprise and terror.  Hugh reassured him that all he had to do was raise his hand, say yes.  Hugh was very persuasive in a very polite manner and he had Ping very quickly assisting at both Sound Advice meetings, arranging chairs, greeting people, but, thank God, not cleaning the furniture or wiping the floor.  It was an eye opener to Ping when he started attending board meeting to see how much Hugh did as treasurer, then when Alan resigned as president, Hugh took on that role, then when another member resigned, Hugh took on the secretary role.  So Hugh was a man who covered everything-Ping had never seen that.  Ping spoke of visiting Hugh last summer to find that he had been house bound for a month.  Hugh thought he had long COVID, but tests showed that his kidney function was very low.  Hugh chose not to have dialysis; he just didn’t want to increase his health span.  So right now, Hugh is resting in peace.

I (Susan Gelinas) was next up. I was a board member for 10 years as well as website co-ordinator and co-editor with Hugh on our newsletter, the Mountain Ear.  I don’t think I would have done any of that without Hugh’s influence, and the respect to me and confidence in me that he had.  We worked well together, not always agreeing, but always working things out.  He was smart and kind and helpful.  He was proud of the work CHHA-NSB did in the community.  It was incredibly important to him that people get the best experience out of their hearing aids.  His love of gadgets pushed him to take an interest in all the gadgets that were available to supplement hearing aids and pass that knowledge on to anyone who would listen to it.  He was a humble person, not always taking credit when he should.  There was one sentence he used to introduce CHHA at Sound Advice Meetings and that was “We are hard of hearing people helping other hard of hearing people.”  I think that sums up how Hugh saw himself.  He felt that he was getting as much as he was giving.  I really want people to know that many people, myself included, have lost a true & loyal friend, and that the hearing community has lost an anchor.  I hope that we can carry his memory forward and that his legacy be that we continue his work in the north shore hearing community.

Mandy Fish, Hugh’s audiologist for 20 years, took up the podium and we were all fighting tears.  I’d love to reprint her whole tribute here, because it captured Hugh as deeply as anyone could.  Mandy came to know him not just as a patient but as a truly remarkable person.  I’ll highlight words that stood out in Mandy’s tribute: “gentleman”, “kindness”, “quiet dignity”, “genuine care for others”, “generosity of spirit”, “gave his time and energy endlessly to help the hard of hearing”, “tech genius”, “shared really great friendships with them and that was part of what he loved”, “thrived on figuring out the issues”, “never asked for anything in return”, “warmth about him that people were drawn to”, “quiet charm”, “not overbearing”, “especially admired by the ladies”.   And Mandy’s final words: “ Hugh made everyone feel seen, supported and heard.  He leaves behind a legacy not just of kindness but of meaningful impact.  Quietly improving lives one person at a time.  He will be deeply missed.  And fondly remembered.”

Neil Bauman, PhD, owner of the website hearinglosshelp.com came up from Lynden, Washington, to share his memories.  Neil was a frequent speaker at our Evening Meetings (pre-COVID, our Summerhill meetings), always providing thought provoking information about hearing loss.   Many of his articles have appeared in issues of the Mountain Ear. He has written many books, including “Talking with Hard of Hearing People”, distributed by CHHA-NSB to members and local hearing aid clinics.  Neil and Hugh had been friends for 24 years and bonded over Hugh’s private hearing aid collection.  Neil set up the website hearingaidmuseum.com to display the hearing aids, as well as provide write-ups.  The museum flourished without advertising it.  People from all over the world sent pictures of hearing aids and devices and asked them to be identified.  Neil refers to their frequent phone calls, and zoom meetings and their interesting conversations, and how much he learned from Hugh.  It also sounds like they shared a lot of laughs looking at what was sent and puzzling over some items.  I know from editing the newsletter that Hugh held Neil in high regard and enjoyed all the back and forth contact and information that was provided.  Neil is adamant that the hearing aid museum continue and is negotiating with an audiologist to take it on.  Neil also spoke about what a wonderful photographer Hugh was and how they would walk along the water and take pictures.  Neil considered Hugh a dear friend and to quote him “I’d like to say farewell, friend Hugh.  We’ll all miss you and I will definitely miss you.”  Neil had provided copies of his books that he signed at the end of the celebration-thank you, Neil.

Ruth Warick took the podium.  As part of CHHA-BC, Ruth thought Hugh had just been a presence in the hard of hearing community “like forever”.   Ruth referred to Hugh as an amazing leader in the North Shore and as its greatest ambassador.  She acknowledged the pride and the sense of humbleness he took in the branch.  She remembers him as a very smart man, very knowledgeable about technology, embracing change, even when AI snuck into our board meetings.  He was a kind man, always took the positive approach.  Ruth said that leaders like Hugh don’t come along too often and that his shoes are almost impossible to fill.  She said that we can be very grateful that we had him in our community, that he devoted his retirement years to the hard of hearing and we are the better for it.  Ruth will personally miss him, but also on an organizational level, as most present will.  Her last quote: “But I thank you for being part of our lives and my life.”

Rick Waters runs a peer support group in Vancouver for cochlear implant recipients or for those who are looking into receiving a cochlear implant.  He has spoken at our evening meetings and has contributed articles to the Mountain Ear as well as our website.  He came over from Vancouver to pay tribute to Hugh.  He used to work on the North Shore and when his hearing started to affect his work, someone suggested he come to one of the Sound Advice meetings.  This must have been in the early days when the meeting were held in a church near Lonsdale.  I had to laugh at Rick’s story about the first time he met Hugh, because Hugh’s persuasive charm had Rick helping him set up the loop system for the meeting.  Rick said that Hugh built the CHHA-NSB branch into one of most successful organizations of its kind in Canada.  Within a few minutes of meeting Hugh, he learned that Hugh was one of those volunteers that didn’t complain, just got down to business, became the secretary, the treasurer, lobbied for grants, edited the newsletter, wrote the articles. Rick talked about Hugh’s wonderful sense of humour, and how he made a person feel really welcomed. And Rick’s last quote: “So we were very blessed to have a guy with that energy, and that sense of community, and like the rest of you, I will really miss him.”

Anne Hunter, a member of the branch, spoke briefly about Hugh and how he got her hooked on the loop system and how she is fighting for loop systems to be installed.  Her quote: “So again, like everybody here, we’re here because we loved him so much and we appreciated all the work he’d done. And thank you.”

Another speaker told a story of going to some of the West Van Sound Advice meetings from 2004 to 2006 and how Hugh gave her a handheld decibel reader so she could test out the reading in her workplace and that helped her with the health and safety regulations at work.

Ruth was able to set up 2 recordings from people who could not attend.  The first one was from Gael Hannan. Gael is a renowned humorist, author and speaker on hearing loss issues. She has presented at NSB several times.  Hugh had a lot of respect and admiration for her.  Her quote: “Hugh was one of those people who just made things happen.  And I enjoyed every meeting, every interaction, every phone call, every FaceTime that I had with him and I was lucky to speak to the North Shore group on special occasions.  “Hugh, I will always be grateful for what you shared with us in your lifetime.  I want to say thank you on behalf of people with hearing loss for everything that you did.”

The second recording was from Flo Spratt, now living in Arizona.  Flo and Hugh facilitated the Sound Advice meetings for 20 years.  She shared a story of her first attendance at a Sound Advice Meeting, where Hugh stood up and told the audience to turn on their T-coils.  Flo was surprised, because she had only used hers for the telephone.  She was shocked because she could hear directly in her ears.  Flo calls Hugh a very remarkable man. She talks about how much Hugh knew about technology and how eager his was to share that knowledge.  He knew he was sending people home with tools in their pockets to help them with their hearing lives.  He was a continued inspiration to Flo, always passing on the current knowledge. Flo’s quote: “And I want to continue doing that as well just by helping others remember there are solutions to our hearing issues that we have.”

The last part of the session was Q & A about what was happening to CHHA-NSB.  Alan & Ruth fielded those questions.  To summarize, CHHA-NSB will be closing and will be folded into CHHA-BC, which operates out of the Wavefront Centre at 8th & Quebec.  The number of CHHA-NSB members has dwindled.  Several of the board members were having health issues and we weren’t able to find replacements.  And we just didn’t have the bodies to do the work to keep the branch going.  CHHA-BC will keep Sound Advice meetings going.  There was a May meeting and there will be a meeting on June 22.  As usual, there won’t be any meetings in July and August.  The meetings will resume in September in the new Silver Harbour at the Harry Jerome Centre, tentatively the 3rd Monday of the month at 1pm, but dates and times have not been finalized and as soon as they are, they will be posted on the website www.chha-nsb.com. We also hope to resume the monthly emails reminding members of the meeting dates.  Please email northshore@chha-bc.org if you have any questions or concerns.

Financially, CHHA-NSB was in good shape due to a large contribution from Carrell Hearn.  Several years ago, a yearly scholarship was set up in her name to be administered by CHHA National.  That scholarship will continue.  In addition, in recognition of Hugh’s achievements, an annual scholarship will be set up in his name for a student in BC working in a study program that will benefit the hard of hearing in BC. CHHA-NSB funds will be transferred to CHHA-BC and continued to be used to help the hard of hearing on the North Shore.

As a final note, one speaker wanted to thank all the speakers and all of the people who made a tribute to Hugh. “He’s a wonderful man and I think he’s shining down on us because the organization smacks of him. He’s somewhere making sure this thing went so smoothly so thank you very much all of you.”

In closing, we noticed that some people were taking pictures. If you would like to share them, can you email them to northshore@chha-bc.org