Heroes, they have to be sure, they have to be soon and they have to be larger than life.

At least they do according to Bonnie Tyler’s song Holding Out for a Hero.

In honour of Heroes Day on Monday, The Royal Gazette asked people: what do you need from a hero? Who do you most admire?

From their answers, it became apparent that real heroes usually don’t ride fiery steeds, but they are larger than life to their admirers.

• Melodye Van Putten/Carvel Van Putten

Melodye Van Putten really needed a hero five years ago when she fell ill in Pennsylvania.

The creator of the Ashay race education programme was rushed to the hospital, where she fell into a coma. Her husband back in Bermuda, popular singing doorman Carvel Van Putten, flew to the United States to be by her side.

Mrs Van Putten is originally from the United States and flies back and forth regularly. She met her husband when she was a guest at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club, where he worked. They married in 2004.

“He stayed by my bedside night and day,” she said. “When I was finally out of intensive care, he brought flowers to me every single day until I was released. Between his attentive loving care and flowers, as well as those from friends and family, I recovered to thrive. Carvel is most definitely my hero!”

• Dany Pen/Ruth Thomas

Artist Dany Pen has learnt so much about Bermuda from her hero, Bermudian historian Ruth Thomas.

Ms Pen is originally from Toronto and is Education and Communication Officer at the Bermuda National Gallery (BNG).

“Ms Thomas has always been a great mentor to me offering the best advice when I needed it,” she said. “I always love hearing her wonderful stories of historic Bermuda and her days in early childhood education in Bermuda and as Cultural Officer.”

She recalled one incident when she was just launching the BNG’s Early Years Programme at Prospect Preschool.

“I gave Ms Thomas a call to see if she could come out with me to the school,” said Ms Pen. “With no hesitation, she picked me up in her car and said ‘let’s go!’ It was one of those moments where teaching side by side with Ms Thomas really opened my eyes! Her words alone in storytelling can take you into a whole other magical realm, and its also those exact words that can inspire you.”

•David Burch/Alice Scott

Who could be more heroic than someone who brought you into the world?

That’s the opinion of Lt Col David Burch.

His hero is nurse Alice Scott who delivered him and his twin sister, Dianne Marksl, in 1954.

Ms Scott was a legend in Sandys. She was a registered nurse, was one of the first Bermudian women to run for a seat in Parliament, and cofounded Sandys Secondary School in 1927, among other accomplishments.

“She always told us that we could be or do anything we wanted and supported us in that effort and led by her example,” said Lt Col Burch.

“She was a nurse and midwife who travelled around Somerset on a pedal bike.

“She was a short lady whose feet couldn’t touch the ground when she sat on it, so she would often ask people for a boost to get going.

“She would ask you to hold your hands like a step so she could get on the bike. She was an amazing woman who raised my mother at the nursing home she ran.”

• Trevor Todd/Kenneth Burns

Artist Trevor Todd’s hero is his meditation teacher, Kenneth Burns.

“‘Burnsie’, as I call him, is a self-taught artist very patient with great determination, who loves to learn and share,” said Mr Todd.

“It all began when he taught me ‘the little secret’ (meditation).”

Mr Todd said today, there is not a day that goes by that he doesn’t think of his early days learning to meditate.

“We spent many a night in meditation with very heavy hands, shaky legs and knees,” said Mr Todd.

Meditation gave him more confidence in mind, body and spirit.

“It enhanced my ability to observe movement in me and others.

“Many years later, I ran my first marathon and became a self-taught artist with this same approach.

“Burnsie, I thank you very much from the bottom of my heart!”

• Debbie Jackson/Victor and Edna Mae Scott

Educators Victor and Edna Mae Scott are psychotherapist Debbie Jackson’s heroes. Victor Scott Primary in Pembroke is named for Mr Scott who was principal there from 1934 into the 1960s when it was the Central School.

“They left their home in Jamaica and moved to Bermuda bringing with them a tradition of education and self-discipline that has informed and influenced both the teachers who they mentored and the students that they taught,” said Ms Jackson. “Their devotion to quality education and the development of Bermudians in both the academic and the performing arts is legend.”

The Scotts were Ms Jackson’s neighbours when she was growing up. Mrs Scott was also the principal of Harrington Sound Primary, which Mrs Jackson attended.

“I didn’t attend Central School but I am well aware of their contribution both there and at other schools on the island,” she said. “What impressed me as a very young girl, was the quiet, dignified way they conducted themselves, and gave of their talents. I was a member of a robust choir at Harrington Sound Primary, directed and developed by Mrs Scott. It was very good and competed in the interschool choir competitions held at the Rosebank Theatre.”

• Jessica Binns/Mona O’Leary

Discovery Wines marketing and events coordinator Jessica Binns said her late grandmother, Mona O’Leary, was her hero.

“She had polio as a young child and was confined to her wheelchair for most of her life,” Miss Binns said. “However, she did not let her lack of mobility stop her from enjoying life and seeing the positive in everything.

“There was never a moment where she was resentful or disgruntled.”

Ms Binns found her outlook on life to be courageous and laudable.

“I learnt that if you at least start with a positive attitude, then your experiences will be positive,” she said.