“He just loved it”
Friends say Thomas Bories was a quiet man who kept to himself most of the time. Millwright by trade, Bories found finical success as the founder of Canadian Tubular, currently based in Ontario.
According to friends he also had three patients under his name.
“He was very good at building things,” says Lorne Buis, Foremost Mayor and executor of estate in Thomas Bories’ will. “He found solutions to problems other guys couldn’t figure out.”
Although Bories wasn’t from Foremost, he would often visit the village to hunt. He quickly grew found of Foremost and bought a small house in town.
“He loved the Foremost area, he loved the hunting. Tom was kind of a very private man, he didn’t go out and have coffee with the boys, he just kind of stayed at home,” says Buis.
Buis says Bories retired about 20 years ago and had suffered from debilitating health issues over the last 10 years. Although Bories’ health prevented him from hunting anymore, he enjoyed his last years living in Foremost.
“He bought the house in Foremost, he sat on the coulee, he had a view of the countryside and he just loved it,” says Buis.
Unknown to Buis, Bories made him the executor of estate in his will before passing away.
“Tom wanted to leave it (financial contribution) to the community of Foremost in an endowment to help the younger generation. Whether it be a student that wanted to go and be a mill wright, or a welder or a mechanic and the family didn’t have the ware to send them to school, then there would be an endowment fund to apply to pay for tuition and books,” says Buis.
“His vision was youth eduction”
Following his late friend’s wish, Buis worked with Bories’ common law partner and the Rural Community Fund of Forty Mile to establish the Thomas Bories Memorial Fund, an endowment donation in the amount of $446,000.
All interest earned from the principal amount will benefit the needs of the youth in Foremost for generations to come. Interest revenue from the endowment will become available each year beginning in 2024.
“We received a significant gift that will help support the Village of Foremost with priorities going to the youth of Foremost,” says Niki Grey, executive director for the Community Foundation of Southeastern Alberta.
The donation is significant in value and represents nearly 90 per cent of Rural Community Fund of Forty Mile’s total donations so far.
“His vision was initially youth education. So if there is a youth graduate or somebody looking for secondary education, apprenticeships or trades,” says Grey.
Additional funding may also be used to help support community upgrades and capital projects in the future.
Members of Bories’ family will have a say in where the funding will go each year.
