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Name: Lynda Washkau
Age: 63 — going on 39!
Where did you grow up? North York, Ontario
Where do you live now? Mississauga, Ontario
Family details: I’ve been with my partner, Chris, for 21 years. I have two daughters, Christi and Brittany, and two stepchildren, Krista and Kyle, who live in Pennsylvania. And then there are Cora and Finn, our two dogs. They were raised around retirement homes, so I joke that they could probably qualify as therapy dogs.
What were your main occupations during your career?
I’ve spent my career reinventing myself.
I started in hotel catering at the Sheraton Centre and eventually became Director of Catering and Convention Services. From there, I went to the SkyDome, overseeing premium food service for Aramark. Then I became the first woman hired as a General Manager at Medieval Times, followed by a role as President of Casa Loma.
About 10 years ago, I reinvented myself again and moved into retirement living, working as a General Manager and Executive Director of retirement residences.
That experience really shaped the work I care about today: helping seniors and their families better understand their options and navigate aging, retirement living and care.
My daughters. Hands down.
When they were growing up, the one thing I wanted was for them to become strong, independent women — who were also nice people, if it killed me!
Today, they’re both out making their own way in the world. Christi is a nurse at SickKids, and Brittany went back to school for a second degree because she wants to become a project manager.
Watching them become independent, caring women who try to do right by people makes me smile.
Of course, when other parents used to tell me, “Your daughters are so polite and helpful,” I’d think, Really? They don't do that at home!
But I guess we did something right.
I’m semi-retired, but I’m definitely not finished.
I want to help as many seniors and families as I can for as long as I can. One of my personal crusades is educating people about what retirement living and long-term care actually look like in Ontario.
Most families don’t understand their options until suddenly they need them. By then, they’re often making decisions in the middle of a crisis.
I want people to start those conversations earlier — understand their options and make a plan before circumstances make the decisions for them.
And on a completely different note, I have a dream of spending a year living in Costa Rica. Put everything in storage, take the dogs and immerse myself in another culture while I’m young enough to enjoy it.
Maybe I’ll even open a pottery studio down there!
Well, I’ve been married three times. That usually surprises people!
But another one is that I was the first woman ever hired as a General Manager at Medieval Times — and the only Canadian GM at the Canadian castle at the time.
It was a very male-dominated company, so hiring a woman was a pretty big milestone. I loved the job, I was successful at it, and yes — I know how to use a sword, so watch it.
There’s also a funny ending to that story. My daughter Christi is now with Alex, who was actually one of the knights I worked with.
She met him years later through a dating app and had no idea we knew each other. When she brought him home, I recognized him immediately.
So apparently my daughter really did find her knight in shining armour.
I’ve been fortunate to travel quite a bit, including recently doing some travelling on my own with an all-women’s tour.
But Spain really stayed with me.
I loved the culture, the people, the history, the food and — obviously — the wine.
You walk around and see buildings and everyday things that have existed longer than Canada has been a country. There’s something incredible about that sense of history.
Copenhagen also made a huge impression on me. Everything felt clean, family-oriented and designed around people actually enjoying their lives. There seemed to be permission to slow down.
Spain and Copenhagen are probably two of the most magical places I’ve visited.
There are two.
The first is my meatballs, sausages and sauce. My first mother-in-law taught me the original recipe about 35 years ago, and over the years I’ve made it my own.
It’s now one of my daughters’ favourite meals. Christi can put away about six meatballs in one sitting, which is impressive because she's tiny!
But even more importantly, I want my mother's story to live on.
She was born in Liverpool in 1940 as WWII started. Her family eventually came to Canada, and as the oldest child, she put many of her own dreams aside to help support them.
She had incredible tenacity. She didn't suffer fools, but she loved incredibly hard.
She passed away last year, and she was my rock and my biggest fan.
That’s one reason I’m writing my life story through MemoWrite. I want my children and stepchildren to know the good, the bad and the ugly — and I want stories like my mother's to survive.
I'm really only semi-retired, but the biggest difference is how much less stress I have in my life.
I'm healthier. I'm drinking less — which helps! And, for probably the first time in my life, I have time for me.
I spent so many years focused on family and work and being everything I thought I had to be.
Now I have time for pottery, which I didn't even start until I was 59. I honestly didn't think I had an artistic bone in my body, and now I can spend 16 hours a week doing it.
For most of my life, I measured my success by what I did for a living. I don't want that anymore.
I want to be remembered for the person I am and how I treated people.
That's been a pretty big realization for me.
A lot of what I do revolves around supporting and educating seniors.
I've volunteered with The Parking Foundation from very early on, helping Rose Bilak with events and wherever else I can. I'm also involved with CARP and spend a lot of time connecting with people throughout the senior community.
The thing that drives me is education.
People often have no idea what their options are until something happens to them or someone they love. Suddenly, they're trying to understand retirement residences, long-term care, levels of care and finances while they're already under enormous stress.
If I can help someone understand those choices before a crisis happens, I feel like I'm doing something worthwhile.
Don't get married at 21!
Seriously, though — wait.
Make sure you know who you are first. Be comfortable with yourself. Believe in yourself. And make sure you're not making a huge life decision for the wrong reasons.
I went through a lot of heartache in my younger years, and I think if I had understood myself better at 21, I would have learned some lessons a lot earlier.
You have so much time.
Figure out who you are before you decide who you're going to build your life with.
My immediate family.
I've gone through some very difficult periods in my life and career, and no matter what shape I came home in — whether I was stressed, crying or questioning myself — they were always there.
They're my biggest fans. They pull me back up.
And then there are my dogs. Cora and Finn bring me an incredible amount of peace.
I've also always appreciated knowing I've made a positive impact. I've never really been driven by money. Knowing that something I created or did genuinely helped someone has always meant more to me.
I think purpose is important.
Home is my safe place.
It's where I can walk through the door, be completely myself and know I'm accepted — flaws and all.
I've never been someone who became deeply attached to a particular house. We've owned homes in the past, and today we rent. But I've realized that I can take the memories from one place to another.
The good, the bad and the ugly all come with you.
So wherever Chris, the dogs and I happen to be, I can create home again.
For me, home isn't really the building. It's where I can be myself, where the people I love are, and where I feel safe.