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Island RCMP officer who died in Nunavut remembered as adventurous, generous man

The RCMP officer who died in an off-duty snowmobiling accident near Kugluktuk, Nunavut, has been identified as Graham Thomas Holmes of Shawnigan Lake.

The RCMP officer who died in an off-duty snowmobiling accident near Kugluktuk, Nunavut, has been identified as Graham Thomas Holmes of Shawnigan Lake.

Holmes, 30, died on April 6 when his snowmobile went off a 30-metre cliff near Bloody Falls in Kugluk Territorial Park.

“I was told was that they were coming back and it was a beautiful day and it was very sunny,” Holmes’s fiancée, Kelsey Foote, said Wednesday.

“Maybe the bright snow and the sun, the spring conditions caused him not to see the drop-off ahead. He was coming back with his buddy and he was in front. When he went over, his buddy saw it just in time and stopped himself from going over.”

The officer with Holmes had to go into town to get search and rescue workers, then go back to the park to get Holmes, said Foote. The accident happened about 10 kilometres away from Kugluktuk.

“I can’t believe it. I still think he’s coming home,” said Foote. “He was my person. We did everything together. Especially up there, you’re together all the time. He was just a part of me.”

Holmes loved everything West Coast, she said. His grandparents were Vancouver Islanders. His mother Fern and father Gary raised him in the Cowichan Valley. Holmes graduated from Duncan Christian School, then joined the RCMP.

In 2009, he graduated from training and was posted to Masset. Two years later, he transferred to Shawnigan Lake to be close to his father, who was terminally ill. Holmes served the Shawnigan Lake community as a constable for five years, said Foote, who met Holmes in 2012. They spent six years travelling the world together.

In 2016, they wanted a change and Holmes volunteered to be posted in Nunavut, where he discovered a passion for the Inuit people and the land.

“It was a big change that’s for sure,” said Foote, who worked as a teacher at first, then became the community wellness co-ordinator.

“Any chance to be out in the world, he would be out there exploring and adventuring. He liked surfing, quadding, hiking and fishing. He got to try ice fishing up north which was kind of cool.”

During their time in Nunavut, Holmes and Foote went to Bloody Falls many times on snowmobiles in the winter and ATVs in the summer, she said.

On the beach in Tofino in December 2017, just before Christmas, Holmes asked her to be his wife.

She was at work when she found out he had died.

“Graham wasn’t afraid to try anything,” said Foote. “To me he was everything. He was so generous. He had the best outlook on life. He had a great sense of humour and he really lit up a room. People really loved Graham. It’s not the same without him.”

She brought him home on April 11. His procession was met by members from West Shore, Shawnigan Lake and North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP.

Holmes is survived by his mother Fern, his brother Justin and sister-in-law Esther. A scholarship fund in his name has been established at Island Savings, account 2642940.

A celebration of his life will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. at New Life Baptist Church, 1839 Tzouhalem Rd., in Duncan.

ldickson@timescolonist.com