When I first arrived in Arctic Bay, one of the first people to go out of his way to make me feel welcome was Jayko Tunraq. He spoke very little English, and of course I spoke no Inuktitut, but with a few words he knew, and a lot of gestures, and a big smile, he let me know that I was welcome here. Throughout my years we continued these conversations, his few English words, and my even fewer Inuktitut ones. Surprisingly we got to joke around alot with each other, one of the common ones was his offering to trade the sewer truck he was driving for what ever it was I was driving.
He also had a habit of stopping into the Detachment and dropping off an apple or orange for us, just as a way of making us feel like a part of the community, instead of apart from the community. Early on, soon after I started dating Leah he started calling me Nignow (sorry about the spelling Inuit), roughly translated as brother-in-law.
On Friday after I was coming back from down town, we waved as always, when we passed each other, and I thought to myself that we hadn't "spoken" for awhile, or teased each other. This morning, about 1 am, we found out that Jayko was sick out on the land, and that a helicopter was going to go him as soon as it was light. They were fishing about a ten hour snowmobile ride from town.
This morning I awoke to the news that he passed away. I already miss that smile he always had for me.
Strangely the only picture I can find of him right now was taken at the lake where he passed away.
Comments
6 responses
What a beautiful way to remember him. I’m so sorry for the loss in your community. It is obvious that he will be sorely missed.
You decribed him and your friendship with him so nicely it WAS like a little visit.
He sounds like a great, warm person, and I’m sorry for your loss, Clare. I’m glad you have such good memories of him.
Wow! I can hardly believe it. It was such a sudden loss. I just found out about it late last night. I suspected something was amiss when my plans to help our RCMP constable move some workout equipment fell through and I head they were “having a very busy day”. I’ve known Jayko pretty much for as long as I’ve lived here and its a strange sensation to think that he is now gone from us.
He will be greatly missed.
So sorry for your sad news.
Isn’t interesting how far we can go without shared language. I’m sure you and he connected very well, even with few words.
Thank you all for the kind words. He will be missed.