# Pte. Jeffrey Beach, Pte. Christopher Catling, 05 April 2007



## old medic (18 Apr 2007)

http://www.saultstar.com/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentID=487175&catname=Local+News

Soldiers bid goodbye to two of their own; Beach, Catling laid to rest week after crash

Michael Purvis
Local News - Saturday, April 14, 2007 Updated @ 8:07:30 AM

On any other Friday morning, Pte. Aaron Labossiere and Pte. Jayson Briand might have been in class at Canadian Forces Base Borden, looking forward to a night on the town with their best friends, Pte. Jeffrey Beach and Pte. Christopher Catling.

"We'd probably spend the weekend picking up a case of Lakeport Pilsner, hitting up McDonald's and starting her off from there," said Briand.

Instead, Labossiere and Briand stood together at the front of a church in Sault Ste. Marie on Friday, tears in their eyes as they spoke at a joint funeral for their classmates.

Catling, 24, and Beach, 19, were killed in a car accident a little over a week ago on April 5, as they were driving through Thessalon on their way home to their respective homes in Echo Bay and the Sault for Easter.

Police say the two local soldiers, both of them in the regular forces and training to be aircraft technicians at CFB Borden, were in the passing lane of a two-lane section of Highway 17 attempting to pass another vehicle in the slow lane. Both vehicles began to swerve and the soldiers' small car went out of control, and spun into the oncoming lane where it collided with a pickup truck and then slid into a ditch.

Briand, who travelled to the Sault from Camp Borden with a large group of his classmates, said he first heard about the crash through an e-mail from a close friend of Beach, who asked him to call immediately.
The friend directed him to an online news report of the crash.

"I still didn't believe it, I thought it was all a big joke," Briand told The Sault Star. "It took a few days to settle in and I finally was in contact with the family."

Labossiere, Catling's roommate, said he got the call while he was in Vancouver International Airport, on his way to Nanaimo, B.C. to be with his own family for Easter weekend.

The loss has been "rough" for soldiers training at the Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Technology Engineering at Camp Borden, said Labossiere.

Friday's funeral drew dozens of Canadian Forces personnel and came as other Canadian military families mourn their own fallen soldiers killed this week in Afghanistan. Six Canadian soldiers were killed Sunday by a large roadside bomb while their vehicle was attempting to cross a field of deep irrigation ditches. Two more soldiers died Wednesday after their Coyote armoured reconnaissance vehicle struck a roadside bomb.

Beach leaves behind his parents, Jim and Janet Beach, and his brothers, Joshua and Jesse.

Catling is survived by his fiancee, Sarah Lamour, his parents, Clayton and Anne Catling, and his siblings, Shannon and Dustin.

Both Beach and Catling were described as fun-loving and charismatic young men during Friday's service.

"Sarah (Catling's fiancee) told me Chris lived his life to the fullest, that he taught her not to worry, but to relax and enjoy life," said Helen Smith, minister at Willowgrove United Church, during the service held at St. Andrew's United Church.

"She said he was a caring and thoughtful man who knew how to make people laugh."

Catling was an avid Edmonton Oilers fan and was thrilled to learn he was bound for Cold Lake, Alta. once he graduated from his program next month.

Beach, who began the same training in August, had hoped to eventually follow his friend to Cold Lake.

"Jeff was a social butterfly, he loved a good party," said Smith, drawing laughs from those gathered for the service. "It's OK to laugh, because he did."

Smith said family characterized Beach as a charming outdoorsman, with strong values and a deep love for his family and friends.

"He loved being with people; he was deeply proud of his brothers," said Smith.

About 40 of Catling and Beach's classmates attended Friday's funeral at St. Andrew's United Church, as did members of the locally-based 49th Field Regiment, where the two soldiers began their military careers as reservists. Members of the 26th Service Battalion, the Sault Ste. Marie Fire Service, and the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service also attended the funeral.

This was Briand's first trip to Sault Ste. Marie. Labossiere had travelled to Beach's home previously and the pair had gone hunting in the Goulais and Searchmont areas.

All four planned to return this summer, Briand said.

That so many soldiers showed up for the funeral is a testament to the loss they've suffered, said Labossiere.

"They both would have loved for us all to come up here and (I'm sure) they're smiling down laughing at us, that we're all here," said Briand.

He said six of Catling and Beach's closest friends gathered at the Catling home in Echo Bay the night before the funeral where they shared stories and looked through photos and videos with the family. "It was good; I'm sure it brought a lot of closure to the situation for a lot of us," said Briand.


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## proudnurse (26 Apr 2007)

With so much ahead of them to look forward too, I'm sorry to hear about this tragedy  my deepest condolences to the families. 

~Rebecca


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