Last month Barbara Seip (nee Weber) lost a husband, her son Chadwick, lost his father and Wayne Ellement lost his best friend.
Terry Seip, the owner and operator of Webb's Royal York Bowl, died at the age of 52 on Jan. 6 from the complications of surgery to mend a fractured hip.
"My husband Terry was a super guy who loved to cook and just loved people," said Barbara in a recent interview.
Terry was born on March 20, 1957 in Hanover, Ont. and grew up in Clifford, just 25 minutes south of Walkerton.
After high school and working odd jobs, he began working at Canada Packers in Walkerton where he would eventually meet his future wife.
The Seips got into the restaurant business in 1980, running the Palace Restaurant for nine years before moving on to the bowling business when he met Ernie Webb, the former owner of the Webb's Royal York Bowl.
Terry took over the bowling alley from Webb in 1989 and replenished its potential with the only way he knew how: hard work. He renovated the alley and added automatic scoring and a glow-in-the-dark bowl. In 2008 Terry launched Seip's Food Inc., specializing in make-at-home cheesecakes.
His best friend Wayne, who met Terry talking computers at the doctor's office, continues to help out with the family's businesses.
"He was a classic guy who always kept his word. He was from the old school where a handshake does the deal," Wayne recalled.
Over the years, Terry dedicated himself to making the bowling alley a success not just for himself, but for others as well.
"He would give out free bowling passes to students at local elementary and high schools for fundraisers they were having," said Wayne. "He would cook for the parties and sometimes ribs, lasagne, salad, and chicken," he said.
And when it came to his guests, he never liked to see anybody sad, everybody needed to have a good time, he added.
Barbara admits that managing the Royal York Bowl alone has been hard but Wayne continues to pitch in along with her son, Chadwick, who is a cross country tractor-trailer driver.
"He loved to keep people happy," said Barbara of her late husband. "He was my right hand guy."