SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — Angus MacDonald and his brother Donnie could often be found in the Summerside Farmers’ Market sipping coffee in the corner and chatting to friends and strangers alike every Saturday morning.
The pair warmly greeted everyone with a friendly “hello” and a smile while perched on a bench in front of the RBC Royal Bank. They were committed to making their little corner of the world a better place.
So it was with great sadness that vendors and friends in downtown Summerside learned the news of Angus’s sudden death just days before Christmas. The 69-year-old man was struck by a truck while crossing Water Street in the city’s downtown.
“Angus loved visiting the farmers’ market because he would see a lot of people here that he knew from his working days in agriculture,” said said Don MacDonald, the Summerside Farmer’s Market manager during an unveiling of a plaque in memory of Angus on Saturday.
“So, we decided to place the plaque over the bench where the brothers always sat as a way to honour him,” said MacDonald.
“Having the plaque here shows how much he was appreciated in the community, the friends he made, and the impact he had.”
Tricia MacDonald was among the family members who took part in the ceremony Saturday. Angus was her uncle-in-law.
“Angus loved talking to people and just being a part of the community,” she said. “It’s been tragic for us as a family because he died before Christmas, but Angus would not want us to be sad, so we just try to keep on going.”
Since Angus’s death, his brother Donnie has had to move into a nursing home in Kensington.
“It’s been a huge lifestyle change for Donnie,” said Tricia.
Donnie was presented with the same picture that hangs near the memorial plaque – one of the two brothers captured during a happier time, both smiling in their favourite spot downtown.
“Everyone liked them, and they were just excellent people,” said MacDonald.
Friends and family described Angus during the tribute as a man who was kind, talkative and had a passion for his community and farming.
