Chance Banning

Here's the slide show of my cousin, Chance, who was killed by a GO Train last week. Sadly, I knew him mostly second hand, only having met up him in person a few times a few years ago. The slide show, put together by his younger brother (a cousin whom I have never yet actually myself met), was played at the funeral we attended last Friday.



It was a fairly emotional service, with a fairly sizable attendance. I saw -- but mostly wasn't really able to talk to -- many family members I'd not seen for decades. We got to know a bit of another side of Chance, the Banning side, that we never really knew anything about. It's strange to learn about relatives in this way... while saying goodbye.

Despite not having been close to him, it still somehow feels like a pretty big loss. Partly perhaps his tragically young age, which makes things feel all the more brutal; probably partly a regret of not managing to connect more with that side of the family. And of course, empathy for the stricken family members who are closer.