Our son, brother and friend Christopher Wapachee was given to us on December 22, 1987, and was unexpectedly taken away, much too soon on May 18, 2007. Christopher or “Chris”, as he was known to his friends, was 19 years old and still had his whole life ahead of him.

Christopher was a tall, quiet, soft spoken, intelligent, and gentle boy who had a smile ready for anyone. His smile was his way of saying “hello”, even if he did not know you. He enjoyed being with his friends, teasing his younger sister Sarah, and enjoyed being teased by his siblings Jonathan and Jessica. When Christopher smiled at you, you could only smile back.

Christopher loved hockey and rarely missed a game. He was always excited and looked forward to his next game. For Christopher, the Nemaska Hockey League was like the NHL. Win or lose, hockey was fun and that was all that mattered to him. He loved being part of a team.

One of Christopher’s proudest moments was when his team was the 2000-2001 regional champions of a house league in Ville Saint-Laurent in Montreal. From time to time when we were unable to watch his games, we would ask him if he scored, he would always answer “almost”. “Almost” was an answer that we would hear quite often. However, at the end of the season, he proudly signed his name on a banner after he and his team won the 2000-2001 regional championship. Their banner hangs at the Raymond Bourque Arena in Ville Saint-Laurent, Montreal.

Christopher, like many of his friends, would spend many hours playing the Xbox. He enjoyed having his friends over and enjoyed going over to his friend’s places. He was always laughing with his little cousins and it was enjoyable to watch him at these moments.

Previous winters, Christopher was invited by the Youth Council of Nemaska to participate in a meeting in Waskaganish. This was the first time, but I am sure there would have been many other times. I can still see and remember the look of pride that he had when he returned from the meeting. He announced that he just came back from the meeting and the first thing he said was “all I ate was traditional food!” He was very happy.

Christopher, along with his brother Jonathan and friend Edward graduated in June 2005. It was a proud moment for me and his mother, sisters, family and friends. Christopher’s future plans involved going to Canadore College to study General Arts and Science or at the West Island Career Centre to study automobile mechanics.

Christopher had plans and looked forward to his future. The youth canoe brigade was something he talked about frequently and that he eagerly wanted to take part of. This was very important to him and any activity that involved people, especially the youth, was where he wanted to be.

Sometimes in the late evening, I find myself standing outside my house, I look down the road and look for a solitary figure to come bouncing lightly down the road, hands in his pocket, back slightly bent with eyes that dance left, right and center. But I know now that he is in his new home in Heaven and is waiting for us, his family, and friends to come and join him. I know he will be looking and waiting patiently, and he will have his smile ready and say, “shaa!”

We love you Christopher and we miss you. You will be in our hearts forever and we will never forget you.