Newspaper Article about an amazing man

An article about an amazing person. I just thought people should read. It really makes you think about what you are doing to help people in need.

Victor Nickel defied the stereotypes.
The 83-year-old Saskatoon man, who died last week on Idylwyld Drive North after he was hit by a semi-tractor, looked like he was in his 60s. As he walked up and down the street with his little white wagon trailing behind, he wasn't scavenging to put food on his table; he was collecting bottles and cans to give to those in need.
"People might think he was a pedestrian not paying attention, but it was a man actually out collecting stuff, in minus 60 weather getting frostbite on his face, to provide for families. Even with that cold weather, he was out. He'd come by three times a day, starting first thing in the morning," said Tami Bradley, who knew Nickel through her work at a gas station on Idylwyld Drive.
The former Mennonite Brethren church pastor didn't stop his ministry to people just because his job ended when he retired at the age of 65. After serving in churches in several Saskatchewan communities as well as in Alberta and British Columbia, Victor and his wife Katie moved to Saskatoon. His neighbourhood, the area between Woodlawn cemetery and Idylwyld, became his church.
"He was a pastor to the people," said Phil Nickel, the youngest of five children born to Victor and Katie.
"He would take time to talk to anyone he came into contact with and to listen to them. His biggest concern was pointing them to God and letting them know that he cared, but more importantly, that Jesus cared about them."
In the year that Bradley worked at the gas station, she came to know Nickel as that kind of pastor.
"When you're down and out, he brings you hope and he says everything will work out. He prays for you and does little prayers. He raises your spirits and he makes you feel a lot better about what's going on in his life," said Bradley, remembering Nickel.
Nickel covered miles and miles every day, regardless of the weather. Wind, rain or snow couldn't keep him home. He rode his bicycle as long as the weather held, then switched to walking when the roads became too slippery.
His day started early, sometimes as early as 4 a.m., when he would have coffee with a particular trucker, says his son.
Nickel has also been described as the pastor to the coffee crowd at McDonald's, where he was a regular.
When he didn't show up for his morning coffee on Friday, employees and customers came to accept what they had suspected after hearing about the accident the day before.
"It was pretty sombre around here. It is quite different not seeing him every day," said Doug Stott, manager of McDonald's Restaurant on Idylwyld Drive.
"He would come, have his coffee, come back later and buy another coffee. We've got some guys who will buy one coffee and drink 10 refills and that's all they do all morning. He never abused the privilege."
Sometimes, Nickel would buy a second cup and take it to a shut-in in the neighbourhood, a mini "meals-on-wheels," said Stott.
"He was somebody out of the ordinary in that he always cared about others and always had a kind word for others. He was never in it for himself. With the scavenging that he did with pop cans and bottles and that, it wasn't to buy him a new TV or something. It was to help out the church or charities."
Nickel collected about $300 worth of cans and bottles each month, but he gave away more than the money he earned from the recycling. Avid gardeners, the Nickels always grew more vegetables than they could eat just so they had extra to give away. They also fixed up old furniture: Victor did the repairing and sanding while Katie mended upholstery and painted and stained the wood.
Nickel was the kind of man who would have wanted to reach out to the driver of the truck involved in the accident, says his son.
"He wouldn't have sent him an e-mail. He would have talked to him face-to-face. He would want to say that he loved him and that Jesus loved him."
Nickel's funeral is scheduled for Wednesday.
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