Born Lorinne Gaye McKay in Burbank, California to parents, Ilona Jeanne (Cookie) nee: Turrie and Rodney Donald McKay on September 27, 1966. Known by most as Lori. As a child, Lori was a professional worship singer travelling around the southwest United States with her singer/songwriter mother, Ilona Brower. She was never famous and never paid enough to live off of, but it was a great experience and a lot of fun. At age 12 Lori began figure skating and excelled in the discipline of Ice Dance, rising to the Novice competitive level with dance partner DJ Dyer. After retiring from amateur sport, Lori went on to become a Level 3 NCCP Certified professional figure skating coach in Northern Ontario, Canada before retiring from this career in 2003 after the birth of her daughter.

While Lori grew up in Southern California, she moved with her mother to Canada in February 1983, having spent one year in Regina, Saskatchewan before moving to her parent's hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Lori began family tree research in 1988 and has continued in that effort on and off ever since.

Today, Lori continues as a Professional Singer under the stage name of Lori Joy, and also sings on the worship team at Church. As well, Lori is an Itinerant Preacher and is called on from time to time to speak at various churches, woman's groups, and other events. Lori's ministry "Peace, Love, and Jesus" has a following of over 3000 people on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PeaceLoveandJesus .
Visit https://www.peaceloveandjesus.com/ for more info about Lori Joy, and the Peace, Love and Jesus Ministry.

In July 2002 Lori married Charles Jonathan Swimmer in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, USA. In September 2003 Lori gave birth to Naomi Victoria Kay Swimmer one month after the passing of Lori's father, Rodney McKay. It was in honour of her father that Naomi was given the name "Kay" as one of her middle names leaving out the "Mc". Three months after the birth of Naomi Victoria Kay, Lori left the marital home with her daughter with police assistance due to the physical and mental abuses of Mr. Charles J. Swimmer. Charles' visitors permit to Canada had also expired so he was made to leave the country. Lori and Naomi were then able to live out their lives in relative safety for the next 18 years which aided Lori greatly in recovering from Post Traumatic Stress from the abuse. Lori was in disbelief for a few months when she got word that Mr. Swimmer had passed away. Once the initial shock wore off though, Lori felt a great relief, more so because those who knew Charles had told her that he expressed great remorse over how he treated me, they say he was truly sorry. I can only hope he really was, but non-the-less I am glad that it would seem my prayers for him had been answered, that he would come to regret his ways and work to be a better and kinder person. That is enough to give me peace, and I can now move on in my life without fear.

Today, Lori is engaged to Mr. James Remus with the marriage ceremony to take place this coming January 30th.

I began my Genealogical research in 1988 after the passing of the man whom I thought was my grandfather. Two things prompted my motivation...1) elder generations of great aunts and great uncles were passing away year after year, which got me thinking maybe I should start asking the older generations more questions about our family's origins before all that valuable info is lost forever. And 2) in my grandfather Jerry McKay's final days, he asked me who I was as I was always keeping vigil at his bedside not wanting him to be alone at his time of death. I thought the effects of the meds were making him forget who I was. I told him I was Lori, Rod's daughter, your grand-daughter. And he answered in frustration, :I know you are Rod's daughter, but how does that make you MY grand-daughter?" It was upsetting that he did not seem to remember me. But as my research would later unfold, as well as some fortuitous events... I would come to discover that his meds were not confusing him, but rather just loosening his tongue to speak the truth at last. The secret he had kept hidden for all of my dad's life was that he was not my dad's biological father. My grandma had a night of indescression when Gerry was out of town on business, and my dad was the consequence for my grandmother's actions which had been fuelled by excessive alcohol consumption. Oh the skeletons you find when you start digging through the closets! Of course I was several years into my research already before I found this out about my grandmother. I had just come home from a highly successful day of research at our local library having found 5 generations of Smith obituaries with only a few basic details to start with, my grandmother's name (Corinne) and I knew her father's name started with W. D. Smith. While I found nothing on Corinne initially, I did find her listed as a surviving relative on W.D. Smith's obituary. but I still did not have W.D.'s name, but thankfully his obituary named he was predeceased by his father Reverend Philander Legee Smith... and Philader's obituary did list his son's full name as William Daniel Smith.. WooHoo! (It felt like I had won a lottery), and the obituary also revealed the name of Philander's father and first name of his mother. Jackpot! So when I got home that day and my dad called me and I excitedly told him of my incredible find on the Smith side of the family, he said "Oh you're still into the family tree research are you? Well sit down kid, I have something you need to know." And he proceeded to tell be he had got a phone call 6 months back from a couple ladies who asked him if he was "Rod McKay, son of Corinne maiden name Smith who used to live on Windemere Ave. in Port Arthur, Thunder Bay who was born on May 3rd, 1939?" My dad's first thought was maybe his own philandering was about to catch up to him, he said. But then they proceeded to tell him the story of the brief affair their father had had with his mother and that he was the result from that affair, and they wanted him to know because they felt he had the right to know his real father before he passes away. My dad said that when they told him that a lot of stuff started to make sense for him because Jerry McKay never treated him in quite the same way he treated his kids from his second wife, Rhoda, and Gerry pawned my dad off to his old aunt to raise and did not take him into his own household until after his Aunt passed away. Now before anyone thinks "how cruel" but it was unusual times... the country was still in the tail of the depression years, then war started and Gerry was by now remarried with a new baby to care for. Money was tight and so even those on the outside did not question why Rodney was pawned off to be raised by the Aunt. But the reality was that Gerry just did not know how to deal with it all. Having Rodney around brought back all the hurt that he felt over Corinne's betrayal, but he knew that wasn't Rodney's fault. At the same time peer pressure of a society that had no idea that Rodney was a bastard child prompted Jerry McKay to keep it all secret and bare with it as best he could. He didn't want to see the boy's life destroyed, but at the same time he could never really bring himself to accept him as his own.
Before I knew of this truth, and about a year after Gerry passed away I had asked Rhoda McKay if Gerry had ever thought that maybe Rodney wasn't his own (This was long before my dad told me) and she said cautiously that "he could not help but wonder at the possibility considering Corinne's behaviour." I told her I was sorry he had to endure such betrayal and heartache, but that I was grateful that he raised my dad and that he was a wonderful Grandfather to me. I did adore him. So by the time my dad gave me the shocking news, it really wasn't much of a shock to me, I had learned enough from my research that my dad did not look like any of the McKays past or present, and details of when Gerry was out of town (which was proven) vs when my dad had to be conceived to be born when he was did not line up at all. So the story that the Taylor family told my dad did line up, and of course my dad looked a lot like Mr. Robert Taylor (or how he looked before Mr. Taylor lost all his hair too, which pretty much sinched it for me). But the other factor that sinched it was the Taylor family told me that my dad, when Corinne shipped him by train alone at the age of 5 with nothing but a piece of paper pinned to his coat, the address on that paper was actually Robert taylor's address... Corinne was trying to send him to his biological father.. But a friend of the McKay family happened to be on that same train and recognised my dad and took it upon himself to personally escort the boy home to Port Arthur, Ontario. He disregarded the address on the note thinking it a mistake, as Gerry's home was just a couple houses away on the very same street. So this is why Gerry felt obligated to take the boy in, and as for Mr. Taylor who knew his son was supposed to be sent to him... he was forced to keep the truth hidden for the boy's sake as well as for Gerry's sake so there would be no scandal. I am told that every year on my Dad's birthday that Robert Taylor would go on a drunk feeling sorry for himself over the loss of his son and what he believed was the "love of his life." The thing is, if my grandma Corinne could have expressed how she felt, it would have been more along the lines of "she was date raped and my dad was the result... and it ruined her marriage and messed up her life, and that is why she sent my dad off, she could not bare the hurt and anguish that he was a constant reminder of... and in those days there was no compassion or understanding for girls who got themselves into such situations, and worse, the children were also often targets of the shame, though they had been innocent of any wrong doing. I am grateful to Gerry for rising above some pretty crappy circumstances and doing his best to raise up my dad to be a good, responsible, hard working person. For certain my dad was far better off with the McKay family. I appreciate knowing my real genetic line, but I also appreciate the joy I had every time I got to visit my "Grampa" McKay, with the twinkle in his eye and big sweet smile... I adored him. He was a good man who struggled, as we all do with the things that hurt so deep. In the moments after his "confusion" over who I was in the hospital room that fateful day, and after apologising and claiming the meds were mixing up his memories... his mind calmed, and after some pause he asked me "Do you believe there is a heaven?" And I said "Oh yes, I most definitely do, and we both will be there someday too." And he then asked, "Do you believe in Jesus?" And I smiled and replied to him, "Yes Grampa, I believe in Jesus... I accepted him as my Savior when I was a little girl and ever since then I have been praying for all my family that they would come to know and believe in Jesus too so we all will be together in heaven someday." And he smiled and took a deep peaceful breath and said, "That's good. That brings me comfort." Then I said to him, "You rest now Grampa. Don't feel like you have to entertain me. I just want you to know that I'm here if you need anything." He went to sleep and did not wake up again, though his body lingered in unconscious state for another 5 days. I kept the evening vigil about 8:00 in the evening to about 10 am when the rest of the family would start coming in taking shifts through the day so that he was never alone. I was getting ready to head to the hospital for another shift of vigil when I got the call from my dad that Grampa had passed and all the rest of the family was there with him. While I was upset that I was not there too, I was at least relieved that Grampa was not alone... that loved ones were at his side when he breathed his last, to bid him Good Journey to heaven.

I now to date I have most of my family tree info uploaded to this site and have linked this tree to many others who were already on Geni before me. Now begins the task of scanning and uploading all the documents I have collected throughout the years of research that corroborates the data. This will take much time, but I will add this data, and link more trees as I am able. Thanks for stopping by to view my page and for taking the time to read my family story.

Other projects I am currently working on is my first album with my music producer fiance, Jamie Remus. Some of the songs I will be recording are songs that my mother Ilona wrote in the 1970's during our years touring the southwest United States in ministry.

Below are links to some of my most recent music performance samples (not my mom's music):

Holy and Anointed One - Duet with Angela Bruce: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rwpHGLydCI

Because He Lives - lead - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ga92bjfgzE

Jesus All for Jesus - lead - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TDz2dsKKJQ