Of all the things lost in the Fort McMurray wildfires, the hard-to-replace memories gone up in smoke are among those that hurt most.
Residents have shared stories of everything they’ve lost, like photo albums, letters, and precious keepsakes from loved ones. But there have also been countless stories of Albertans everywhere stepping up to help those affected by the fires.
One Morinville woman is thankful for what her family has been able to recover – with a little help from a St. Albert business.
Crystal Kehoe, whose grandfather’s home was destroyed in the inferno, found a plastic bag left unceremoniously on her doorstep, full of what she would soon realize were her late grandmother’s and late uncle’s ashes recovered from the house.
“I didn’t even know what they were, I thought it was sand coming out of the bags and here it was ashes,” she said Kehoe. “It was a pretty morbid feeling.”
While she was relieved the ashes were recovered from the rubble, she was sad and quite unsettled to see how they were treated. And the urns themselves were in rough shape, to say the least.
Her uncle’s urn was mostly intact but her grandmother’s was in pieces. Kehoe said she decided to take the urns to the St. Albert Funeral Home where she was told they were going to be put into temporary holding until her family decided on a final resting place.
She was surprised by what the branch manager and funeral director, Gary Lynn, did instead.
“Over the course of the weekend he took it upon himself to really place them in beautiful urns and do what he thought was right,” she said.
Lynn played down the significance of his gesture, saying the funeral home “just wanted to help.”
St. Albert Funeral Home also worked with a funeral home in Fort McMurray to replace the original death certificates that were lost in the flames. The funeral home did the work and provided the urns and documents to the family free of charge.
Kehoe struggled to find words to express her gratitude, describing the new urns as a bright spot in a tragic time.
“It’s just something totally remarkable that they have done for our family,” she said.
Generations of the family have lived in Fort McMurray. Kehoe herself was born and raised in the city. The grandfather, Al Kehoe, 77, whose house was destroyed, has been a prominent man in Fort McMurray for many years.
“My grandfather was brought up to Fort McMurray in the ’60s, hand chosen from his university to build, commission and maintain Suncor for 60 years almost throughout our family,” she said.
She said her grandfather struggled to find kindness from others after leaving his home. He was rejected from three hotels because he was carrying pets that he saved from other homes with burning lawns.
Kehoe expressed her appreciation for the sympathy the funeral home has shown after the hardships her grandfather faced.
With his home in shambles, Kehoe said her grandfather was left to wonder ‘What’s life now?’ She believes the new urns will help him move forward.
“This is my grandfather’s experience and what did happen to him. It’s 77 years of his legacy gone and the only two things that he does have left are these urns,” she said.
The opportunity to put them to rest properly is an act of kindness Kehoe said is far too rare in this world.
“It’s a weight lifted for sure,” she said. “I came in (to the funeral home) just a crumpled up heap and left just like a free bird.”
