The Legacy That Sparked a Movement: How the Greater Saint John Community Foundation Began
“Our community is strongest when we care for one another.”
Fifty years ago, a quiet act of compassion in Saint John’s south end planted the seed for something extraordinary.
A Home Built on Compassion
On Broad Street stood a stately old residence known affectionately as The Old Ladies Home. Since 1919, it had been a place of comfort and dignity for elderly women who had no family to care for them — a true haven of kindness in a changing world. The home, now remembered as Courtenay House, was more than just a building; it was a community built on generosity, service, and respect for those who came before us.
A Changing City, A New Chapter
As the decades passed, Saint John began to evolve. Advances in healthcare and social services meant that people were living longer, and new facilities like Loch Lomond Villa and The Church Home of St. John and St. Stephen were emerging to meet the growing needs of seniors. It became clear that The Old Ladies Home had fulfilled its purpose — and it was time for a new chapter.
A Vision for the Future
When the decision was made to close the Home in the late 1970s, its leaders faced a profound question: What should become of the funds so generously left by its residents — women who had given not only their gratitude but their life savings to ensure others would be cared for?
Enter Deno Pappas, Q.C., who took the matter to court on behalf of the Home. In 1979, Judge Stuart Stratton approved a remarkable decision: of the approximately $753,000 in the Home’s fund, $120,000 would go to the newly established Church Home of St. John and St. Stephen. The rest would be used to create something entirely new — a permanent endowment fund, entrusted to the Saint John Foundation (as it was known then), with a simple but powerful purpose: “To provide for aged and needy men and women.”
That decision marked the birth of what we now know as the Greater Saint John Community Foundation.
The Birth of a Foundation
The newly formed Old Ladies Home of Saint John Fund became one of the Foundation’s first endowed funds, guided by a six-member advisory committee dedicated to ensuring its earnings supported seniors in need. It was an innovative idea at the time — pooling charitable gifts to create a lasting source of support for the community.
Over the years, that fund — and the vision behind it — inspired others to follow suit. It showed Saint John that local generosity could have permanent impact, and that together, people could build a stronger, more caring city for generations to come.
Carrying the Legacy Forward
By 2005, the fund’s stewards once again ensured its purpose would endure. They took steps to make sure that, in perpetuity, the earnings would support both seniors’ causes and students pursuing education in seniors’ care.
Today, five decades later, that same spirit continues to guide the Greater Saint John Community Foundation — a legacy of care that began with a group of women, a home on Broad Street, and a shared belief that our community is strongest when we care for one another.