It was just a few days after marking their first wedding anniversary in September that Ladner’s Marie Skerl got the tragic news.
Her husband Chris Ekren had died in an accident during a hunting trip near Squamish.
Ekren, who grew up in Richmond and was on the trip with a friend, was a passenger in a vehicle that tumbled 150 feet down an embankment after a forestry road gave way during a turn. Ekren died on impact.
“Chris could make friends wherever he went. He was quiet, but relatable and accepting of everyone,” Skerl told the Optimist.
He was a natural athlete and played hockey, baseball, volleyball and basketball in school, she said, adding that he continued playing sports leisurely after he graduated, but became an outdoorsman in recent years.
Skerl, 26, noted Ekren, who would have turned 25 this month, became interested in carpentry in Grade 12 and would go on to start a framing company with a friend last year.
The couple met in high school at Richmond Christian Secondary and were both involved in the school’s musical production of the Wizard of Oz.
“I painted his face green for his role and started falling for him then,” she said.
Skerl, a photographer, said her faith has helped her cope.
“Honestly, without my faith in God I don’t know how I would be able to cope with such tragedy. Knowing Chris is happy in Heaven gives me a peace to go about my days,” she said. “Not that I don’t have times of struggle and questioning though, I have been very sad and angry a lot of the time. I lived in denial for the first few weeks and just tried to be strong for everyone else that was hurting. Now that more time has passed and the reality started to set in, it has been really painful. But I have been so surrounded and loved on by family and friends, I am very thankful for that.”
Her friends have also started a gofundme campaign to help Skerl.
“Marie is one of the kindest, gentle-hearted, and loving people we know and our hearts are breaking deeply for her,” it reads.
The page can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/care-fund-for-marie-ekren.
