WILNO – Not many people can capture so many hearts of the community with a simple smile, silly joke or easy-going conversation.
Dennis Pecarski, 53, was the exception.
The dedicated father, husband, and Barry’s Bay Metro employee passed away suddenly on the evening of October 7. That very day, he had just wrapped up his shift at the local grocery store, and headed home for the weekend. Although autopsy results will determine the exact cause of his passing, Dennis had fallen down the stairs of his Wilno home.
“That’s the last thing that he said to me when he was leaving work that day was for me to have a good weekend,” Gerard O’Malley, Barry’s Bay Metro co-owner, said. “Everybody is very devastated by his passing.”
Dennis would always bring warm greetings in the morning and after every one of his shifts. As a grocer order and receiver, Dennis worked with Metro for the past 20 years.
He began his journey with the grocery industry when he was a student, working at Super Save (now Valu-Mart).
“Grocery was his life,” his wife, Tracey, said. “He’s such a people person and a helpful soul. He always had that smile and he always gave people the time of day.”
The couple met when Tracey was delivering milk from the Barry’s Bay Dairy to Super Save. The two struck up a conversation about Dennis’ nickname, ‘Moe’.
“So I asked him how he got the nickname and he said it was a long story,” she smiled. “We had out first date out at the [Wilno] Tavern.”
Dennis was obviously smitten, as he followed Tracey when she left for school to the University of Hamilton. His cousin was able to secure a job for Dennis there.
Get your October 19, 2016 edition of The Valley Gazette to read the full story.