BARRY’S BAY – The Madawaska Valley has lost a prominent businessman and loving family man following the tragic passing of Aloisius ‘Al’ Smaglinski.
Al passed away the evening of January 19 in a tragic outdoor accident, the circumstances of which are still being examined. His wife Maxine found him when he didn’t come back in time for dinner.
Al was born and raised in the Valley, growing up in Wilno, Ontario, alongside his two sisters and stepbrother. Though many people his age would take off to Toronto or Kitchener following school, Al stayed in Ottawa to be closer to home. He got his first taste driving a truck while he worked for Ben Hokum in construction.
“I always wanted to drive a truck,” Al told The Valley Gazette at the occasion of his retirement, in July of 2012.
That dream soon became a reality and a way of life, as in the summer of 1987, Al saw an opportunity to start his own business. He discussed it with his wife, Maxine, and by August of that year, he was ready to go.
Get your January 21, 2015 edition of The Valley Gazette to read the full story.