Lesley Megarry and her brother Johnny have lived in Burlington for more than 60 years. Johnny passed away in the fall of 2025. Lesley was his advocate for 35 years of his life and continues her advocacy for developmental disability in Johnny’s honour. She is the author of “Let’s Be Friends Who Haven’t Met Yet”, and “Let Me Introduce You to My Brother.” Lesley is trying to increase awareness around developmental disability and encourage greater inclusion and appreciation for individuals who are developmentally disabled, people who may need help in creating their lives.
My brother Johnny is an inspiration.
Do you believe we are all an inspiration? I think we all have inspirational qualities, though we may have to look a little deeper for some. For Johnny, you didn’t have to look any further than right in front of you.
In the most instinctive way possible, Johnny loved to live and be around people.
Does he sound inspirational to you? Let’s see if you feel that inspiration through a typical day in Johnny’s life. Every morning at 9 a.m. — exactly 9 a.m. — Johnny would call me: “What ya doing today, Les?”
He really cared about what I was doing; he asked questions, interested in my day. And he was excited to share his plans: “Today’s laundry day, Les.” The next time we spoke, Johnny would remember what we talked about and ask more questions, making me smile.
Johnny took great pride in his room, keeping it clean, making his bed every morning. He was considerate and aware of others in his home: helping with groceries, putting out the garbage, always with a smile.
Throughout Johnny’s day, he would greet everyone with a “Hi!” When he said, “How ya doin’ today, buddy?”, it would make us smile. And when someone said “hi” back? Wow, the smile that came to Johnny’s face. A favourite of mine was when Johnny greeted someone with, “Nice weather we’re having,” no matter whether it was a sunny or rainy day.
Did you feel it? Inspired? Johnny’s ways he loved to live and be around people were what most, I’m pretty sure, would consider mundane, or at least not worthy of much attention. For me, this in itself is inspiring. What do you think?
Johnny said to me once, “You think I’m pretty special, eh, Les?” He had no idea; he was an inspiration to many. There are others in our community who are an inspiration, especially those with a developmental disability, those who may need help in creating their life.
Who inspires you? Johnny shows us that something as simple as a smile may be an inspiration.
Through Burlington Local-News.ca, Lesley is sharing a world that is part of our Burlington community, one that even Lesley may not have paid much attention to if not for her brother. Lesley hopes these conversations help you to think of people you may not have otherwise. It is a world full of compassion, kindness, love, and hope, no matter its many challenges. Johnny gave Lesley the okay to share his story. She hopes you follow this series of conversations, of which Johnny is very much a part. This is the second conversation in the series (click here for the first).
If you’d like to continue the conversation about developmental disability, join Lesley on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, anytime from 6:15 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Lesley is leading an informal get-together at Simply Gifted, 491 Brant Street. Bring your favourite tea or coffee, or treat yourself: Simply Gifted is a few stores south of Starbucks and Craig’s Cookies. Lesley would love to see you. There is so much more to share and learn from each other.
If you’re interested in purchasing Lesley’s book, it is available at Simply Gifted and A Different Drummer books, and on Amazon.ca. It is not necessary to have read the book to participate in the conversation on June 2.
