Community mourns loss of Hall of Famer Audrey Bendick-Akins
Audrey Bendick-Akins, a champion on and off the golf course, has lost her battle with Leukemia.
She was 55.
“She touched many people’s lives. It’s a great loss for our community,” said Joye McAvoy who became friends with Akins during their junior days at Hideaway Golf.
“She won the Canadian Juniors at the age of 13 and really inspired me to work hard at my game to play at her level,” she said.
McAvoy put in the work spending time with Akins at the course five days a week. The payoff earned her the opportunity to travel to various tournaments across North America and abroad with her friend.
A highlight for McAvoy was when they teamed up to represent the province in the mid-80s.
“The Ontario team was represented by all the golfers from Hideaway,” said McAvoy. “It was myself, Audrey and Sandra Renaud. Nick (Panasiuk) Sr. was really proud of us.”
Akins, a frequent member of the national team, was inducted into the Windsor-Essex Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.
She was the youngest to win a national junior golf championship, won an Ontario Amateur Title, was captain of the University of Oklahoma’s team and won a gold medal for Canada at the Commonwealth Games in 1986.
The Windsor local also had an impact in the classroom. The Kennedy grad was an educator and head of the English department at Sandwich Secondary. Akins is described as having a knack for guiding students.
“She was so good with them. She was so calm,” said Sarah Moore, a former colleague. “Never raised her voice. Had expectations from them that they respected.”
Moore wishes she and the staff could have spent more time with their friend during her battle. Audrey was diagnosed during the early part of the pandemic. “So during COVID people couldn’t visit. We did a drive-by once. It’s just tough,” she said.
Moore and her husband Rob coached Akins’ kids Dallas and Jada at Sandwich, “who are just outstanding people.”
Dallas won a silver medal with the St. Clair College men’s basketball team earlier this year and is now coaching with the Border City Athletic Club.
Jada is a former track athlete at the University of Windsor and is now a model for a New York agency.
As one of her last wishes, Akins reached out to Moore asking to have a scholarship set up at Sandwich to honour a student-athlete who exemplifies a passion for sport, leadership and mentorship.
“Of course, we’re like ‘yeah,’” said Moore. “Because you name awards after great people.”
Moore says towards the end of her journey Akins was encouraging people to give blood because she was receiving transfusions multiple times a week.
“That’s another goal of ours at the school is to get that back up and running again and have people donate blood in her honour.”
On Friday, Dec. 2 visitation will be held from 4-7 p.m. A celebration of Audrey’s life will be held on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 10 a.m. at Families First, 3260 Dougall Ave., South Windsor.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.