A Portage la Prairie family who lost their mother Lee Gibson recently in a tragic car crash on Aug. 23 was touched by a gesture from Simplot Canada employees to honour their mother.

Cliff Gibson, one of Lee's sons, said Simplot presented the hard-hat to the family last week, with the staff’s condolences.

"We got an incredible gift for Mum," Cliff said. "All her co-workers signed a brand new white hard-hat."

The hat contained signatures from Production Line 2 staff, and words about Lee's kindness and hard-working cheerfulness.

"You were always there with a kind smile ...," wrote the staff members.

Lee Gibson lost her life in a car crash on Aug. 23 at Yellowquill Trail and Trans-Canada Highway.

Lee, who was 80-years-old, had worked at Simplot for the past six years and was employed as a product inspector on the trim-line at the French fry processing company at the time of her passing.

Cliff said the family members were touched by the Simplot staff's gesture to pay tribute to their mother.

The family plans to have the special hard-hat installed in a commemorative glass case. Cliff said his mother would have appreciated it.

Plant manager Chris Tompkins, with Simplot Canada Ltd. in Portage, expressed his condolences to the family and said the staff at Simplot appreciated Lee's uplifting spirit and will miss her deeply.

"I know that the people on her shift thought very highly of her," he said. "She came to work every day with a fantastic attitude.

“(Lee) was a nice lady to be around, and an extremely hard worker," he added. "She will be sorely missed around the factory. She had a lot of friends here. She was a nice person to always be around, because she was so upbeat and so positive."

angela.brown@sunmedia.ca