Page 343 - Reason To Sing by Kelita Haverland
P. 343
Epilogue
We saw a lot of each other in the ensuing years, whenever
I was singing in Alberta. This made me very happy.
When Gord and I moved from Toronto to Vancouver, I
was really excited about getting back ‘west’ to my roots and
family ties. Although not my home province, BC was close
enough. We had been settled for about six months when Billy
informed us he was coming for a visit. But first he was going
to Vancouver Island to see Frankie and his wife. The dates
were perfect as I would just be finishing up a little tour around
the Toronto area. A catch-up with Billy was something I had
been so looking forward to. It had been a few years since we’d
seen each other.
I had one last concert to give in Ontario when I got a call
from Frankie’s then-wife. She told me that Billy had fallen
into the river on the edge of the property. He was missing.
Search and rescue were out in full force along with a crew of
volunteers. They were doing their very best.
The news stunned me. All I could think of was, “Not
again! Not another one. Please God, no!” Of course, we were
all hopeful that Billy would come walking through the back
door alive and well at any minute.
I performed my last concert that night. Only the grace
of God got me through. I caught my flight to Vancouver
early the next day and then immediately travelled by ferry
to the Island to be with Billy’s kids (who had already arrived
at Frankie’s). For several days we all waited and prayed. And
prayed and waited some more. Then search and rescue called
off the mission and said there was nothing more they could
do. We had to accept the fact that Billy was gone. It was
unbelievably surreal.
Six weeks later, a fisherman found Billy’s body miles away,
downstream. They needed dental records to identify him. The
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