Good-bye to a valiant friend

This morning my heart broke.  I recieved news of the passing of my friend Justin.  He and his girlfriend had been fishing on the banks of the Chekamus river near Whistler, BC.  She had been pulled in and he had dived in after her.  [FULL ARTICLE in Vancouver Sun, Picture on right of Chekamus River].  Somehow, I'm not surprised.  That was how Justin was - always there for his friends and loved ones and ready to pull you out of whatever trouble you had gotten yourself into.  

I first met Justin sometime around the turn of the century while we were both studying at the University of Waterloo, Canada.  He was a friend and classmate to my then boyfriend and my first memory was of sitting at a long table eating a meal and thinking - that guy's super duper cool.  I didn't know what it was about him, but sometimes you get that sort of feeling about a person. There's something special here.  I've known you in a past life - sort of stirring in your gut.  I was happily in a relationship so I knew it was not anything but an instinct to be friends with this person.

Years passed and our lives changed.  By 2003, I had graduated and broken up with that boyfriend and was living in Toronto.  A chance meeting as I stood in the subway doors at North York Station on the Yonge line and none other than Justin stepping on the train headed in the same direction.  We immediately traded contact information and proceeded to spend an immense amount of time in each other's company.  There was never a chance for romance, we simply were too good as friends.  He knew all my secrets, and I knew quite a few of his.  We watched Jet Li movies, ate lots, drank lots, went clubbing and spent hours on IM.  Then it was time for him to leave and move to Vancouver for a job at EA.  As sad as I was to see him go, I made an effort and spent a week in the summer of 2004 visiting him.  True friend that he is, he took me all over the world and made sure that my visit was a memorable one.  

Our lives distanced a bit and I moved to Galway, Ireland for the time that it would take me to fail a PhD and fall in love and get married.  Justin too announced his impending marriage and added a side trip after his honeymoon to visit Galway with his new wife Karin.  When we announced our impending marriage, Justin made sure to travel to Toronto at the appropriate time for the wedding.  I was so touched that we asked him to be a witness to our vows.  Then life took over yet again and we fell out of touch for some time.

I wasn't there when they separated but I was in touch months later when I found out he was seeing someone new.  Life takes over and there simply isn't enough time in the world to keep in touch with everyone, especially if they live so far away.

This morning, i woke up and read the kind email his friend Walt had sent to his friends.  I read the news article in disbelief and rushed into the bedroom to wake up Steph to give him the shocking news.  I hugged my little baby and felt sad that he would never know his 'Uncle Justin'.  

Justin was the type of friend who you didn't have to see every day.  He simply was.  He had a heart of gold and I know that he was a true modern day knight with all the goodness of a hero.  Like all superheroes, he had his dark moments and his faults - but these pale in comparison to his laughter and love of life... he will always be remembered with love.

Related articles: August 12th news article - Vancouver Sun | August 13th news article - Vancouver Sun