On behalf of my children and grandchildren I would like to send a sincere thank you to all who supported us when we lost our beloved son, dad, brother, nephew and grandson Archibald Glenn Frank 3rd.
My son passed away on Nov. 5/16 in Port Alberni, B.C.. It is very sad to me that my son chose his day to go home. It is a choice many of us are struck very hard by. That living without him is going to be very hard. I am working on accepting the choice he made for himself.
Over the years he touched many lives with his carpentry profession. My son graduated from Grade 12 at Maaqtusiis high, and graduated a few years ago from Discovery Community College for his Forming and Framing certificate.
Archie built and renovated buildings in various communities, including Zeballos School, Ahousat housing, and Esowista. I was always very proud of my son’s accomplishments and very proud of his work.
I have many memories of my son, which I hold close to my heart. I want to share a few of them. One is one time he and I were home alone and I was sleeping on the bed in the living room and he sat up and watched a movie. I heard him crying. He was about 6 years old maybe, but I asked him what was wrong and he said 'I wanted him to live," he struggled through his cries.
I looked at the TV and he was watching the 1976 King Kong movie and, you know, when King Kong falls off at the end and dies. But that always touched my heart that he was so sad and crying so loud for King Kong.
Another story I have is one year he and myself went to midnight mass. Father Salmon was praying for the people and my son really wanted to go home and open Christmas presents, but as Father went along to pray for the people my son says "Amen now!" but I shushed him and giggled.
My daughter Julianna was born on Easter Sunday in April 1981 and every so often her birthday lands on Easter Sunday My son was jealous of her that she got a double celebration and one day he says to me, "Mom, can I have my birthday on Christmas?" and I said" No, silly" and he says, "but why, it's the same 25 and 25." Because his birthday was Feb. 25 he thought he could change it.
My son will be missed dearly. Have a grand journey my dear son, until we meet again. Love from mom.
Archie is survived by six children and four brothers and three sisters and his mother and father and many aunts and uncles and numerous relatives.
I am very grateful to those who traveled near and far to be by our side at the time of our loss. For those who donated food. Thank you. Thank you to my big brother and his family for opening up their home for us to sit and be together. Thank you for the boat owners and relatives who opened up their homes for us. Thank you to the cooks and those who all supported us whole heartedly. Thank to those who asked and sent word and those who thought of us.
Thank you Ahousat Band and Ehattesaht for your generous support. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Sincerely, April, Qwamaatsmii, Julianna, Colin, Simon, Kevin, Gerri-Lyn, and Brandon.
Children, Ivan, Germaine, Mercedes, Mariah, Nevaeh, Savannah, and most of all Rambo, his companion.
I hope to move forward to be able to be an advocate about the seriousness of suicide. There is a message in this situation that I can take the good out of a bad situation and move forward but to let my son' legacy live on.
He left behind a lot of memories and touched a lot people’s lives in one form or another. I would have known that seriousness of how or what I could have contributed to the situation my son was in. I was blind and refused to believe that one day he would succeed. It broke my heart into a million pieces to know that my son made his final decision on Nov. 5/16. There are a lot of preventable measures that we as a Nation need to take into a more serious manner. That ensuring that we are acknowledging those who are living in an immense amount of pain and it goes unnoticed.
I wish I read in between the lines and took the warning signs more seriously. One day I want to do a walk in memory of my son. Please if you are suffering or know of someone who is suffering from depression, please reach out for help. As a mother I know the pain to lose a child that I always thought it could never happen to me and that one day I'm going to grow old and my children will remember me, but in my worst nightmare my son is now gone.
On Nov. 4, 2017, Claudette Lucas and Lloyd Watts and Ryan George and families along with April Lucas and Archie Frank and families will be hosting a dinner to reveal our children's pictures to honor our children Jocelyn George and Archibald Frank 3rd in Port Alberni BC. Time and place TBD.