Remembering EA April Patton 1968-2020
- Details
The Educational Assistants Association has lost one of its own. On May 11th, 2020 April Patton passed away surrounded by her loving family, after a six month battle with brain cancer.
April was an Educational Assistant and a valued member of the GCI staff for the past 13 years. Her passion was people. “When I arrived at GCI, April was one of the first one's to welcome me to the castle. April had a warmth and strength about her that she shared with her students and colleagues.”~Karen
April’s kind and caring nature was an asset in the classroom and fostered trusting relationships with the students in her program. “April was always so encouraging to him. She always told him he would succeed. She will be missed dearly by us and many other lives she touched”~parent
April volunteered on the GCI Cross Country and Track teams where she coached and encouraged young athletes. In her Life Skills classroom she fostered the work placements for her students, anyone knows this is a job in itself and she rallied the class to feed the entire school with popcorn every Friday at lunch. Whether in class or on the field, April was rooting for you. “I'm not sure I would still be an EA if it weren't for April. She is the one who got me through the tough days and showed me how to stick out the tough days and see the rewards when working with this special group of students.”~coworker
April’s love and passion for family, community, education and fitness was inspirational. “April was one of the GREATS!!! She was able to run through life working full time, raising four fantastic kids and keeping up fitness with her wonderful husband Andrew while still finding time to coach cross country, make connections at book club, travel with her family and be a great friend and support to her many friends and family members. A pillar of strength, she was able to do all this and do it with pizazz and make it look so easy. She will be so greatly missed”~Tracy
April fought hard against a brain cancer to which there is no cure. Her family would like to see a cure for glioblastoma as soon as possible, so please give generously to The Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada www.braintumour.ca/.
Both the GCI and EAA have organized events to honour April’s memory and her contributions to our community. Please follow the links provided in the information below.
Our deepest sympathies go out to April’s husband Andrew and children Brendan, Julia, Cameron and Nolan. May you find peace and comfort in the memories you share and in the presence of each other.
“GCI will not be the same without your jokes, smiles and many kindnesses you showed your students and coworkers. Shalom My friend, Till we meet again.”~ Love, Karen
April Strong Poster 2020
June 5th-7th
Join the GCI community for a
Virtual Memorial Run
for April
For anyone from the EAA sending pictures in for this memorial please send them to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
#AprilStrong
April Patton Blood Donor clinic flyer
April was a dedicated
blood donor.
She gave over 80 times
and encouraged others
to do the same.
Join us June 25th
Visit blood.ca
April was an Educational Assistant and a valued member of the GCI staff for the past 13 years. Her passion was people. “When I arrived at GCI, April was one of the first one's to welcome me to the castle. April had a warmth and strength about her that she shared with her students and colleagues.”~Karen
April’s kind and caring nature was an asset in the classroom and fostered trusting relationships with the students in her program. “April was always so encouraging to him. She always told him he would succeed. She will be missed dearly by us and many other lives she touched”~parent
April volunteered on the GCI Cross Country and Track teams where she coached and encouraged young athletes. In her Life Skills classroom she fostered the work placements for her students, anyone knows this is a job in itself and she rallied the class to feed the entire school with popcorn every Friday at lunch. Whether in class or on the field, April was rooting for you. “I'm not sure I would still be an EA if it weren't for April. She is the one who got me through the tough days and showed me how to stick out the tough days and see the rewards when working with this special group of students.”~coworker
April’s love and passion for family, community, education and fitness was inspirational. “April was one of the GREATS!!! She was able to run through life working full time, raising four fantastic kids and keeping up fitness with her wonderful husband Andrew while still finding time to coach cross country, make connections at book club, travel with her family and be a great friend and support to her many friends and family members. A pillar of strength, she was able to do all this and do it with pizazz and make it look so easy. She will be so greatly missed”~Tracy
April fought hard against a brain cancer to which there is no cure. Her family would like to see a cure for glioblastoma as soon as possible, so please give generously to The Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada www.braintumour.ca/.
Both the GCI and EAA have organized events to honour April’s memory and her contributions to our community. Please follow the links provided in the information below.
Our deepest sympathies go out to April’s husband Andrew and children Brendan, Julia, Cameron and Nolan. May you find peace and comfort in the memories you share and in the presence of each other.
“GCI will not be the same without your jokes, smiles and many kindnesses you showed your students and coworkers. Shalom My friend, Till we meet again.”~ Love, Karen
April Strong Poster 2020
June 5th-7th
Join the GCI community for a
Virtual Memorial Run
for April
For anyone from the EAA sending pictures in for this memorial please send them to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
#AprilStrong
April Patton Blood Donor clinic flyer
April was a dedicated
blood donor.
She gave over 80 times
and encouraged others
to do the same.
Join us June 25th
Visit blood.ca