MORTLACH, Sask. - Jack Poole dreamed of the day he would bring the Olympic torch to the town where he grew up.

Mr. Poole was instrumental in bringing the 2010 Games to Canada and became CEO of the Vancouver organizing committee. He wanted, despite failing health, to share the moment with the town where he began his own long run, from farm boy to kingpin of B.C. real estate.

But his battle with pancreatic cancer ended in October, before the flame could reach Mortlach, Sask., a village off the Trans-Canada Highway that's home to about 350 people.

He was 76.

Instead, Mr. Poole's wife, Darlene, carried the flame for him. But by all accounts, he was there with her.

Ms. Poole taped a picture of her husband to the torch so that he could help her along the way.

"He had to run with me," Ms. Poole said, Sunday. "This is his time and I couldn't run alone so he helped."

Hundreds of people, many of whom came from out of town for the event, lined the street where the relay took place to cheer for Ms. Poole and be witness to a rare national event taking place in the centre of town.

"[It's] overwhelming," said Bettie Goodnough, who grew up in Mortlach and now lives in nearby Caron. "When we went to school here, if a strange car came to town, we were all excited."

But it wasn't just a big day for residents of the tiny Saskatchewan hamlet. John Furlong, CEO of the Vancouver Olympic organizing committee, as well as other friends and family of Mr. Poole, came to Mortlach to honour his memory and celebrate his achievements.

"Nobody wanted to miss Mortlach because this is one of those extraordinary special stops we were going to make on the way to the Olympic Games in Vancouver," Mr. Furlong told the crowd. "We had dreamed that Jack would carry the flame down this street."

Although he spent much of his adult life outside Mortlach, those who knew him said Mr. Poole kept a special place in his heart for the town he credits with shaping his values and business sense.

He came from humble beginnings, in a home without running water or electricity, to become a wildly successful real estate developer as co-founder of Daon Development Corp. Although it collapsed in the early 1980s, Mr. Poole came back and carved out a reputation as one of Vancouver's most successful developers.

But he never forgot where he came from, Mr. Furlong said, part of what made him a "fantastic Canadian."

"I'm finding it very hard to hold back tears," Ms. Poole said. "I'm so proud of Mortlach and the respect they've shown for Jack, and he would have loved to have been here and would have been so proud."

Before the torch was sent on its way to Swift Current, Sask., for the night, the town unveiled a plaque in Mr. Poole's honour that will be placed outside the house where he grew up.

Now, anyone who walks by will be able to read what Mr. Poole considered two important character-building lessons: "Don't be quick to judge others and live your life with integrity."

Lessons he lived by, if the emotional and bittersweet outpouring in Mr. Poole's memory are any indication.