Warning: This article discusses suicide, which may be triggering to some readers. If you're in a crisis, call the Suicide Crisis Hotline at 9-8-8.
A celebration of life is being held this weekend for Trent Dorais, a Lumby man whose big personality and leadership qualities endeared him to his hockey teammates, and whose role as an enforcer left him with brain injuries he would later succumb to 香蕉视频直播� injuries he was working towards bringing to light.
Dorais, 33, was declared missing from the Lumby area in March. He was found deceased more than a week later, on March 28.
He is survived by four children, parents, siblings, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, nieces, a nephew, a girlfriend and a wide circle of friends.
The celebration of life will be held at Lumby's Camo Country Weddings and Events (45 Trinity Valley Rd.) at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 24.
"Trent possessed the kind of energy that put smiles on our faces, made us laugh and could lift our spirits with his infectious smile just by walking into a room," a family member said on social media.
"This gathering is a chance for all who knew him to come together, share stories, and celebrate the joy he brought into our lives."
Dorais was a hockey player who played five seasons in the BC Hockey League, from 2007 to 2012, with the Vernon Vipers and the Alberni Valley Bulldogs.
Dorais's mother, Charlie Fedora, told The Morning Star her son was an enforcer who never hesitated to drop the gloves and fight. That led to him suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disease that stems from repeated head trauma.
"He was a grinder," Fedora said, adding she thinks Dorais made the Vipers' roster at the age of 16 because of his physical play. She remembers standing beside the owner of the Vipers in 2007, when Dorais was a walk-on at the Vipers' camp. She watched as he knocked down Robbie Short, a Vipers player who was a couple years older than Dorais and tough as nails.
"I'm pretty sure that's the moment Trent made the team," Fedora said.
A video from 14 years ago highlights team captain Dorais as Port Alberni's player of the week. It shows a glimpse of his personality, his ethos of hard work, his love of fishing when outside the rink. It also shows that fighting was ingrained in his role on the team.
"He's an emotional kind of leader where he'll go out and make a big hit, or if he has to drop the gloves, he will," says head coach Paul Esdale in the video.
Fedora isn't angry with anyone who may have led Dorais towards an enforcer role; that was how the game was played back then, and still is to a lesser degree.
Fedora said Dorais was aware of the fact that CTE was significantly affecting his life, and he was working with some other hockey players 香蕉视频直播� among them former NHL players 香蕉视频直播� to raise awareness about CTE and brain health.
Tragically, Dorais's brain injuries were too much to bear. He'd been battling for years. The CTE had led to depression and addiction issues, as it often does, but Dorais was eight years sober at the time of his passing.
"He won most of his battles with it all, but he just couldn't overcome the brain health," Fedora said. "He made the choice to not live with that anymore."
Nolan Graham will be speaking at Dorais's celebration of life. Fedora said Graham was also a hockey player and "lives every day with exactly what Trent was dealing with."
People can RSVP for the celebration of life . Anyone who has a photo or a written memory of Dorais can include it in their RSVP or bring it to the event.
"His story lives on in all who knew him and we want to compile the stories and memories of his life for his children as something they can keep with them in the years to come," his family said.
