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Local Mounties mourn popular police officer |
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Written by FRANK PEEBLES
Citizen staff
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Thursday, 24 July 2008 |
RCMP members and friends of Cpl. Wayne Hubbell gathered Wednesday for a service at Assman's Funeral Home. (Citizen photo by David Mah)
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BARRY CLARKCHIEF SUPTNORTH DISTRICTPRINCE GEORGE RCMP
It is not common for a member of the RCMP to die while still on active duty, and a whose who of the RCMP was on hand to mark the occasion at a service at Assman's Funeral Chapel near Fort George Park.
"Wayne's goal was to instill strength in all of us," said provincial RCMP spokesman Sgt. Pierre Lemaitre, who was also a close friend of Hubbell's having served together in Prince George in years gone by. Lemaitre was asked by the family to deliver the eulogy. "Wayne's approach to handling his illness was to keep busy."
He was active as a Mountie almost to the end. His first diagnosis was made in April, 2007 when a brain tumor was discovered. His fight against the cancer, at hospitals in Vancouver and Prince George as well as at home, seemed to be going well, until this spring when the tumor reestablished itself. His health took a turn for the worse in June and he passed away at home surrounded by loved ones on July 16.
"He tried so hard and fought his cancer to the end," said a family statement written by his daughter Ashley. "Before he passed I thanked my father for letting me take care of him ... I can't put into words how much respect I have for this man."
That respect extended to the upper echelons of the RCMP. On hand at the service was assistant commissioner Al Macintyre, one of E-Division's highest ranking officers headquarters, who visited Hubbell's family at the hospital in Vancouver while he was still in ICU from his first emergency surgery.
Also in attendance was the North's commanding officer, Chief Supt. Barry Clark, who was also a personal friend of Hubbell's starting on the first day he was posted as an RCMP member. His first assignment was in 1994 to B-Watch at the Prince George RCMP detachment where Hubbell reported to then-Staff Sgt. Clark.
"He was a great man, a tremendous inspiration to many, and a tremendous family man," Clark said, admitting their relationship became far friendlier than most and when Clark was promoted to North District headquarters he was delighted that Hubbell also soon joined him.
"You could always depend on him to do the right thing," Clark said. "I knew that of him as a friend and as a ranking officer. He was an outstanding guy. We are saying goodbye to a dear friend."
The chapel was filled beyond capacity and all, Mounties and civilian loved ones alike, spoke of Hubbell as a man who was dedicated to making his position as a Mountie mean something to his life and his life mean something to his being a Mountie - a profession he considered not a job but a calling. Clark told The Citizen that Hubbell's passing was a loss, obviously, to his family and friends but without exaggeration also a loss to Canada.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 07 September 2008 )
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