NEWS PHOTO CHRIS BROWN
Marie and Ivan Marthaller pose for a photo at the Strathcona Centre on April 11. The couple have been volunteer drivers for Meals on Wheels for about five years.
mcranker@medicinehatnews.com @MHNmocranker
For two Hatters with a bit of spare time on their hands after retiring, they looked to fill the space by volunteering with various projects around the city.
Marie and Ivan Marthaller have their hands in a few pots, helping with the Summer and Winter games and recently starting up a euchre program at the Strathcona Centre and their biggest commitment, delivering warm dinners as part of the Meals on Wheels program.
“We had talked to some people and they made it sound like something we wanted to do, and something that we could easily do,” said Marie. “I started it, and after Ivan retired he was happy to come along with me — we’re a team now.”
After five or so years of delivering the food, twice a month to up to 20 people, Marie says her and Ivan are trying to do something positive with their time.
“We now have the time to do some volunteering, and we’re trying to do our best to pay it forward,” she said. “One day somebody might be doing this for us — some day we might need Meals on Wheels, so we are doing what we can while we can do it.”
Ivan says he enjoys seeing the same people every time they are out delivering on their route.
“Building the relationships with the people we deliver to has been great,” he said. “At first, most people are shy, but after a while they’re very friendly and welcoming and we have people we’ll just sit and chat with for five or 10 minutes.”
The couple are on call in a way, accepting an extra route every so often when they are asked to, and Marie says she the couple has no plan to stop doing this.
“You get to really know the people you deliver to on a regular basis, and if they’re not there, you really miss them,” she said. “I didn’t think I would make as many connections as I have when I started — I don’t think either of us plan on stopping this.”
