Jennifer and Ray Stewart, owners of a White Lake area ranch, have donated $60,000 to the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation.

The money will help the foundation’s campaign to provide medical equipment for the new Patient Care Tower at Penticton Regional Hospital.

The couple, who own a picturesque ranch south of White Lake, have incredible stories to tell about their lives and their individual battles with cancer.

Ray, 73, grew up in Port Arthur and dropped out of school when he was 16 to work in a paper mill – earning twice as much as his friends employed at a department store.

However, he soon realized the value of a good education and went on to graduate from university with an honours Bachelor of Commerce degree and later a Master of Business Administration degree from Simon Fraser University. From humble beginnings, a successful business career would follow, including years in forestry, mining, banking and ranching.

Now retired, Ray continues to work as a business consultant. He is truly a self-made man.

“When you put pressure on (yourself), you just make life more interesting,” he remarked.

Ray wedded his high school sweetheart and they remained married until her death in 1988.

He was later introduced by a friend to Jennifer and they have now been married for 26 years. But life hasn’t been without its difficulties. Jennifer is recovering from breast cancer and a double mastectomy earlier this year, after previous bouts with ovarian/cervical cancer, and brain surgery.