Hundreds of community members gathered at the Jasper Activity Centre, Aug. 12, to mourn the loss of Reuben Doyle, a volunteer firefighter who made the ultimate choice to take his own life Aug. 6.
Prior to the memorial service, dozens of firefighters, police officers and Parks Canada personnel marched shoulder-to-shoulder from the Jasper Fire Department to honour his service.
鈥淣o doubt the tragic events this week have shocked us to the core and left our heads spinning,鈥� said reverend Keith Marsh.
鈥淭here are no words for moments like this, but words must be said and a man鈥檚 life must be honoured.鈥�
Fire chief Greg Van Tighem led the eulogy, sharing stories about Doyle鈥檚 life growing up in St. John鈥檚, N.L., his craftsmanship at Tekarra Lodge, where he worked as the maintenance manager, and his 16 years of service as a volunteer firefighter.
鈥淩euben鈥檚 first love was his boys,鈥� said Van Tighem. 鈥淏ut he also had two other families, the fire department and Tekarra.鈥�
Van Tighem described Doyle as one of the best firefighters in Jasper.
鈥淥ne year he had 100 per cent attendance, which has never happened and will probably never happen again, he never missed one training night, he never missed one call or one event,鈥� said Van Tighem, adding Doyle also had a great sense of humour.
During his speech Van Tighem also took the time to broach the topic of suicide and talk about operational stress injuries.
鈥淩euben鈥檚 final act of bravery was a choice he made and a choice none of us can understand nor should we try. Don鈥檛 question the why and the where; it鈥檚 not for us to judge, but to love, support, respect and honour Reuben,鈥� said Van Tighem.
鈥淚t鈥檚 time that we stop telling everybody to suck it up. We need to start taking care of ourselves so leaving here today lets honour Reuben Doyle by showing compassion, patience and understanding to everybody living and dealing with operational stress injuries.鈥�
Following his eulogy, Lisa Picco, Doyle鈥檚 ex-wife of 37 years, also spoke.
鈥淭oday I鈥檓 here to say thank you. Thank you for taking care of him, thank you for loving him and honouring him.鈥�
Near the end of the memorial service a power point slideshow was shown highlighting Doyle鈥檚 life followed by the ringing of a bell, also known as the 鈥渓ast alarm,鈥� a customary tradition for a fallen firefighter.
Doyle is survived by his two children, Jason Charles and Chad Reuben, as well as two grandchildren.
Paul Clarke
[email protected]
