MOOSE CREEK—Noble Villeneuve, the former provincial minister of agriculture, has battled back from the stroke he had back in 2001. He is still in a wheel chair and cannot speak but he is getting about, his wife Elaine said, adding "He has accepted it (disability) very well."

Villeneuve went for minor surgery on his knee but the day after the surgery had a stroke. He is now 71.

The burden of care has fallen on his wife who says: "With the good Lord I am able to do it. I couldn’t get along without praying."

He served as minister of agriculture in the Harris government between 1995 and 1999, and was defeated after the riding boundaries were changed to include Cornwall. Over the last 20 years three sitting ministers of agriculture lost their seats. The other two are Elmer Buchanan, NDP, and Helen Johns, Tory.

Villeneuve was a boon to rural residents throughout his career, and especially during the ice storm in 1998 when he came through for hard hit farmers.

He has four daughters and a son.