UNITY — A group of Unity residents gathered at the Adanac Hall on the Unity Museum grounds Oct. 14 to bid farewell to a long-time resident, business owner and volunteer. Geraldine Barrett is moving to Saskatoon for health reasons and her ideas, healing touch, work ethic and friendship will be missed by many.
A hint of Barrett’s contributions to and influence on the community of Unity was given by the fact that not one, not two, but three former mayors attended the farewell tea.
In 1980, Barrett started her 40-year-plus career as a massage therapist working out of her home in the Brentwood Trailer Court.
Passionate about learning, Barrett never missed an opportunity to study more about her craft which led to her becoming a talented sports masseuse. Along with travelling to conferences and workshops to improve her skills, she was honoured to travel to work at many national and international sporting events, including the Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alta., and the Commonwealth Games in Victoria, B.C.
With a dream of expanding her business locally and creating a European-style health spa at home in Unity, she purchased the former RCMP barracks in 2000, opening Sunrise Wellness Spa. The spa offered pedicures, manicures, facials, European body wraps and more, along with massages.
A retail shop at Sunrise Wellness Spa sold a variety of unique products but the stars were the high-end Eminence Organic skin care products from Hungary. Barrett instilled her love of learning into her staff so everyone could discuss and recommend the best products for individual customers. The Eminence company recognized Sunrise Wellness Spa as the most educated spa in Saskatchewan, competing with others in the big cities of Saskatoon and Regina.
Barrett also continued to study massage therapy, including learning how to help people with repetitive strain injuries. Her massage clients came from hundreds of miles around, specifically for her touch.
Giving back to her profession, Barrett served as secretary of the Saskatchewan Massage Therapy Association and was the first president of the Canadian Sport Massage Therapist Association, which she helped found, along with the Canadian Massage Therapy Alliance.
Barrett was not all about business, however. Seeing the need in town, she was a very active executive member of the senior lodge fundraising committee and became the building chairperson for what everyone now knows as Parkview Place.
Along with members of the Unity and District Heritage Museum and members of the Unity and District Chamber of Commerce, Barrett worked hard organizing Canada Day activities for all ages for many years. To usher in the new millennium, she invited the Eagle Flight Dance Troupe from Sweetgrass First Nation to perform at the July 1, 2000 celebrations.
As president of the Unity Chamber, she organized an annual business recognition evening, which eventually evolved to become Celebrate Unity, now held the first Monday in March each year. Even after stepping down from the organizational role, right up to 2023, she could be counted on to help with setting up and taking down the event space.
Attending the Unity Baptist Church, Barrett planned many potlucks for the congregation and looked after the kitchen for many years, ensuring needed supplies were purchased and on hand. Just this spring, she was there to receive donations and greet people coming to the Luseland Bible Camp fundraising tea.
She was active in the toastmistress group, as well as organizing local support groups and mastermind groups. Local quilters will remember her regular attendance at quilting events such as the annual Quilt Til You Wilt.
Despite her many volunteer roles and interests, Barrett never wavered from her primary mission which was to help people who were hurting. She and a friend travelled to Saskatoon and Humboldt more than once after the 2018 Humboldt Broncos crash, setting up in hotel rooms and offering free massages to survivors and family members.
In addressing those who came out to wish her well Oct. 14, Barrett continued with her emphasis on healing. Referencing the support group she had led for adult children of dysfunctional families, she said everyone does the best they can with what they have. She encouraged those listening to “look after your own weaknesses,” because some parents and grandparents did not.
“When you talk, the pain ends and the true person starts to show up.”
Barrett received a prolonged standing ovation after she spoke, so we will leave the last word to her: “It was just great to be in this community and serve. I served with my whole heart.”
