Larry Duffield has received numerous awards for his volunteer work and has just been appointed to the National Seniors Council.
On April 1, Larry Duffield, a long-time member of the Windsor Branch of the National Association of Federal Retirees, joined the National Seniors Council, where he’ll help shape policies in support of seniors’ well-being across Canada.
For Duffield, this is the capstone achievement of several decades of serving others through volunteer work — often seniors, people in relative poverty and Indigenous people.
“I feel so honoured to receive this appointment,” Duffield says. “I don’t know exactly what my role will be, but I do hope that, from several perspectives, I can offer a viewpoint that few others on the council can bring to bear.”
He explains that most members of the council have PhDs, are medical doctors or have similar qualifications.
“In some ways, I feel a little out of my league,” he says. “But my perspective is a little unique. First, I am an actual senior, which is not the case for most members of the council, who tend to be a little younger. And for decades, I worked overseas for the federal government as part of what became the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and, now, Global Affairs Canada.
“No one else brings this experience to the table, and I hope it allows me to make my own kind of contribution.”
Duffield’s life has been all about making contributions. He was a founding member of the Windsor seniors advisory committee, president of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (Windsor-Essex Branch), a board member and vice-chair of the Ontario Society of Senior Citizens Organizations and a board member of the Can-Am Indian Friendship Centre of Windsor.
Not least, he has also been a board member of the National Association of Federal Retirees Windsor branch.
“I’ve really enjoyed the branch’s work — it’s always crucial that members of Parliament understand exactly what the priorities of federal retirees actually are.”
He has received a lot of recognition for this extensive volunteer work, including the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal and the King Charles Coronation Medal 2023. In 2012, he was named Windsor’s senior of the year and described, in the ceremony, as “a model citizen.”
For decades, he volunteered for Meals on Wheels and has been a senior warden at All Saints Anglican Church in Windsor. He has donated blood more than
100 times.
If all these contributions have a heroic aspect, Duffield doesn’t want to hear about it.
“Let’s just say, it gets me out of my wife’s hair — gives me something to do,” he says. “As a senior, you could spend all of your time golfing and curling, but that doesn’t speak to me. I enjoy people, and particularly enjoy those who are marginalized or disadvantaged or otherwise encumbered. And, as everyone knows, any simple act of helping gives immediate rewards.”
His three-year term on the National Seniors Council will take him up to the age of 85. He acknowledges the obvious actuarial concerns, but they don’t stop him. “Look at Jean Chrétien. At 91, he gave one of the best speeches at the recent Liberal convention in Ottawa. If you can keep going, you should.”
He sees a lot of work ahead.
“I hope the learning curve is steep. All the better to begin making whatever contribution I can make.”