{"id":555167,"date":"2026-03-23T11:19:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T11:19:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/555167\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T11:19:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T11:19:20","slug":"after-40-years-this-surrey-crossing-guard-has-become-like-family-to-many-in-the-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/555167\/","title":{"rendered":"After 40 years, this Surrey crossing guard has become like family to many in the community"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 4 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

Every school day, Lucy Hembrough dons her neon vest and carries her big red sign out to the street near William F. Davidson Elementary School in Surrey.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She pushes a button activating a flashing light that signals to drivers that they need to stop for pedestrians. Just to be safe, she walks out into the road, holding up her sign \u2014 adorned with stickers gifted by students \u2014 as children wander through the crosswalk behind her.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s how Hembrough, 78, has spent most mornings and afternoons for the last 40 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It all started when a friend of hers was looking for a new crossing guard at the school.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The school district has long partnered with an organization called Frontiersmen of the Commonwealth to recruit crossing guards. Hembrough wears their patch on her yellow jacket.<\/p>\n

She wasn\u2019t interested at first, but eventually gave it a try. It turned out, she loved it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ALucy Hembrough helps students get to school safely each and every day. (Ben Nelms\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Hembrough’s husband worked at the now-closed Green Timbers Nursery in Surrey to support her and their son. As a stay-at-home mom, she said the volunteer position gave her something to look forward to.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It just kept me going every day, going out in the mornings, going out in the afternoons,” she said.<\/p>\n

WATCH | Why Lucy Hembrough has been a crossing guard for 40 years:\"\"<\/p>\n

This crossing guard has been keeping children safe for 40 years<\/p>\n

William F. Davidson Elementary School in Surrey, B.C., has had one constant presence for 40 years \u2014 its crossing guard, Lucy Hembrough. The CBC’s Gurpreet Kambo went to Surrey to find out more.<\/p>\n

Surrey board of education chair Gary Tymoschuk said crossing guards are “the first trusted adult a child sees on their way to school.”<\/p>\n

“They are a calming presence, a familiar face, and a daily reminder that their community cares about their safety,” he said. “We are deeply grateful for Lucy’s extraordinary commitment to our children over the past 40 years.”<\/p>\n

While her work as a crossing guard has been a meaningful part of her life these past few decades, it\u2019s also meant a lot to the people in the community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ALucy Hembrough has become more than a crossing guard to many people in the William F. Davidson school community. (Ben Nelms\/CBC)<\/p>\n

According to the school district, Hembrough has kept generations of family members safe at her crosswalk.<\/p>\n

“I crossed these parents \u2026 and then I couldn’t believe it. A few years later their kids came along and it was quite shocking because I never expected anything like that,” Hembrough said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jaspreet Randhawa remembers Hembrough helping her cross the road when she was in Grade 2.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I remember Lucy’s warmth and her smile. She’s always smiling at everyone. She’s always waving at everybody. And she does her best in remembering little pieces of information about other individuals.”<\/p>\n

Now a teacher at William F. Davidson, Randhawa marvels as she watches Hembrough help her students cross the street today.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ThreeCrossing guard Lucy Hembrough is pictured with Emma Maurice-Lawton, right, and her mother Shelley Maurice, left. (Ben Nelms\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Hembrough helped Emma Maurice-Lawton, now 19, get to school every day when she was in Grade 3. That turned into a friendship between Hembrough and Maurice-Lawton’s family, and they ended up so close they\u2019ve actually spent a few Christmases together.<\/p>\n

“She almost became sort of a second grandma, in essence, to these guys,” said Shelley Maurice, Maurice-Lawton\u2019s mother. “We started hanging out, going to her house, having tea with her.”<\/p>\n

“She makes these special cookies for me even to this day,” Maurice-Lawton added. “She really has that grandma feeling.”<\/p>\n

\"ALucy Hembrough hugs one of the many children she helps get to and from school safely each day. (Ben Nelms\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Hembrough has grown close with many of the students at the school.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The kids are funny and they always say funny little things,” she said. “They tell me they love me, hug me all the time. And it’s really enjoyable.”<\/p>\n

And while at age 78 many would decide to hang up their safety vest in favour of retirement, Hembrough said she hopes to hang in there a little longer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I’m going to do it as long as I can.”<\/p>\n

\"ACrossing guard Lucy Hembrough is pictured outside of William F. Davidson Elementary School in Surrey, B.C., on March 12, 2026. (Ben Nelms\/CBC)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555168,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194299],"tags":[49,48,87674],"class_list":["post-555167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-surrey","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-surrey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=555167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555167\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}