It's hard to talk about the history of Queenswood Heights without talking about women like Lori Nash, Helen Tweddle and Lynne Stacey. Unfortunately, the former two ladies are no longer with us, but Stacey is still going strong at 80 years young.

Lynn Stacey with her husband Frank in their Queenswood Heights home. FRED SHERWIN PHOTO

The lifelong volunteer received the Mayor's City Builder Award on Wednesday, Feb. 27 during a special ceremony at Ottawa City Hall.

Stacey first moved to Queenswood Heights from British Columbia in 1977 with her husband Frank and their three children. They had no sooner moved into their house on Sault Drive when Lynne volunteered as a Brownie leader. Before long, she was also helping out at Queenswood Public School where two of her children were enrolled.

When they first moved to the Heights, the Staceys attended an Anglican church in downtown Ottawa. It didn't take long for Helen Tweddle to find out. When she did, she suggested they might want to attend the local Queenswood Church.

"It wasn't really a United church at the time. For different services we would have an Anglican minister, or a United minister, or even a Presbyterian minister. It was whoever was available at the time. It wasn't until the Anglican went off and built St. Helen's that Queenswood Church became Queenswood United," explains Stacey who has been a member of the church since the beginning and the primary accompanist for the choir.

Stacey's love of volunteering goes back to her days growing up in Amisk, Alberta, where she was a 4H leader as a teenager. After joining the air force in 1958, she became a Cub leader during her basic training at CFB Cornwallis in Nova Scotia.

"It was a boyfriend who wanted me to join at the time, but he didn't last a month," laughs Stacey, who was stationed to Cold Lake, Alberta after completing her basic training.

It was at Cold Lake that Lynn met her husband Frank, who is no stranger to volunteering himself. A past president of the Orléans Legion, he has been involved in various capacities with the local Poppy Campaign for almost 25 years.

The couple have received a number of awards including the Queenswood Heights Citizen of the Year award and they each possess their own Queen's Jubilee Medallion (Lynn received hers in 2007 and Frank got his in 2011).

The Staceys opened their home to street kids and runaways for nearly 15 years from 1980 to the mid-90s. They would house and feed the kids for up to a week while they were being transitioned to foster homes or reunited with their families.

Among other things, Lynne, who is a practicing physiotherapist, ran an aqua-fitness class at the Bob MacQuarrie Recreation Centre for 15 years for people recovering from stroke or undergoing cancer treatment. She also canvassed for the Canadian Cancer Society for 17 years every April until about three years ago.

She's organized the Christmas Choirfest for the past 34 years and founded both the Cumberland Community Singers (1992) and the Cross Town Youth Chorus (1999). Although she's received several awards over the years, she still feels humbled by all the recognition.

"I feel quite honoured, honestly," says Stacey. "I've always lived by the motto that it's your attitude that allows you to reach your altitude no matter what you decide to do."

That from a woman who has reached some dizzying heights when it comes to volunteering and sharing of one's self.

(This story was made possible thanks to the generous support of our local business partners.)