4) mazes and miniature castles, He was

A. 1992. Loren re

| By Michool Dackor

oe Ue re OMe toe ee teen ciety

News Kidltor
mlehnel@nsnewsncom

Lia Mldy upper mc
tlass home,

7he house sls on a let street
high tp tia Delbvook nelghborhood,
Fes a Uy, etait yellow. Ger welt fats
af whidows and balconies: every:
where, To the immediate rear beat
till garden, Lofty, a lithe fomr-yeur:

old Shelley, loves to run here,

Deep green forest lugs the mati
tal beliind. Alea to the sonth, a
Mlionedoltar sweep oof a vlew
embraces Vancouver harbor, the elty
anid beyond,

‘The Bradtields have called this
plice home for more (hint decade,

Guy 48, works fora beer compas
nye Littday £9, Isa fuman eesourees
nitiager at Lions Gitte Hospital,

‘Together they have rised (wo

; ehklren, a son aad a daughter, lsat Is
oP tO,

Loren ried 18 dn Murel.
©The Wradtields are hard-working
people, They made suze to provide for

_ thelr kids Ina material way == a com

> fortable home, vacations; sports and
postesegondary education savings
plans,

The parents also provided an ethl-
cal compass. ‘There were cules co live
by based upon the time-honored
foundations of mutual respect and
love,

b ,, They tried to do the right things.
vO “The phone rings often today with
avords of consolation, Magnificent
~ displays of flowers fill the dining and
living rooms with bursts of colon A
small book on child suictde sits closed
on a kitchen counter,
oa Profound get is written freslily
"upon the fiees of Guy and Linda,
The idyllie back yard on
Crestwood Avenue isa place of pain,
This is where Loren, confused and
done, chose to end his life some time
saluritig the day of June 2, ;
yeh Up until last year Loren played ,
soccer withthe. ‘West Vancouver
Soccer, Club,. Pror to that he played
Jt nine years with the Lions Gate Soccer
ClabaHe wasting athlete, Loren
© won frends easily with a mischievous
grin and an easy charm,
3 Hecould turn on charisma at will,
* Loren was smart and did welt in
School when he applied himself,
il He liked to play with building
Tplocks as a boy, making intricate

i

_ good at drafting and had the seed of a
& notion thar he wanted to study archi-
reeture ‘Onee he gridusted from see-
ondary school,
vo Laren held inany: part-time jobs
«over the years, He worked in several
North Share restaurants, He delivered the

North Shore News fora while, He worked at

Save On Foods at Park and Titord.
~ He pocketed a goodly sum cutting lawns and
gardening for his neighbors.,

His edging was meticulous. :

Loren used to be a mviser and socked away his
cash into mutual finds. yhoo

His family spent a month ine Australia in

al enjoyed himselfand thought
about recurning there to study one day.

The girls chased hin,

, He took pride in- his appearance and show-
ered alot. | ;

Loren kept his room downstairs on
Crestwood neal. ‘The walls are decorated with a
cling motif, Up until he was 14 he rode fre-
quently with his father and sister, Hockey and
football pennants —- B.C, Lions, Detroit Tigers,
University of Michigan — hold) prominent
places, :

On the door to the bedroom a sign warns
“Private.” A sticker says “Hf it's 100 loud you're
too old.”

There’s a framed Canucks hockey poster of
Kirk Melean above his. bed. A University of
Michigan “M" is fixed to the ceutre of the blue
bedspread...

Under his bed, a bos full of hockey cards.
There are also letters from hockey players Loren

had written to ins the hunt for autographs, ,

Nordiques player Wendel Chirk, Toronto Maple
Leas player Doug Gilmour are among, those
who replied with return letters,
. Boston Bruins’ Cam Neeley was Loren’s all-
T time favorite hockey star,

At one dime there were more CDs in the
room, That was before he started selling them
off.to buy cigarettes, or bud, or booze. What's
left is-mostly rap like Mell on Earth by Mobb
Deep.

ee

ra
gh

“The windoty fooking et to the back yard is
lined with soccer trophies,”

Outside de window stands a basketball
hoop. He played there with his sister, On tl
other side of the grass, by the fence, stands a ro
of young fir trees, oh '

* This is where Linda) saw’ the lifeless body of
her son.

He took a chair from the carport, tied an
electrical cord 0 a tree and hanged hinisell. “She
family thinks he died some time berweer TL aco
and 12:30 pm, ; ue

* His mother came heme at approximately
445 pan. .

She let the dog out to run. Lofty began to
bark in an odd way. Cinda had never heard him
bark like this before, It attnieted her attention,

Partially obscured by branches she could
make out the white of her sun's T-shirt, At first
shy thought he was playing hide and seek with
the dog. She looked a bit more closely, ‘This time
she determined that his body was above the
ground,

The truth of what she saw: registered. She
broke down, Linda could net bring herselfto go

out there, Moments later Guy came home, He

cut his son down,

It was much too late,

“He just wanted to come hame,” Linda says.

Why did it come to this? “Tragedy gives up no
easy answers. [cis the nature of it, Guy and Linda
and Guy's sisters Jill” Mullen and ’Alison
Feldmann believe drugs and alcohol had every:

‘thing to do with the why of it.

Loren’s world was collapsing. For two vears
he had bounced: berween homes and schools,
He was in trouble with the law for some stupid
things he did, such as wying to break in to cars
and trying to’steal a school VCR and knock-em-
down brawling fate ar night after drinking way
too much,

nt nee

* “repardless; help, just wasti't to be had when:

eta ar nt Rt et Ee

He knew he needed help.” /

The family knew they all needed help. They
saw the psychologist the socal worker, the pro-
bation officer, At the end none of it stuck, and

Loren thought he needed it the most, os

Fromeage 16 Loren’s inner demons had
much intexivating, numbing fel to work with,
They thrived and grew larger and. nastier until
one day they refused to be contained.

Along the way things bepan to deteriorate.
The lnisic rules no longer hell, Trust evaporat:
ed. There was some tough love. Contracts were
signed and broken, There: were tots of,tears and
there was frustration, ee

Most parents spend a lifetime trying to keep
their children out of harm's way, Initially the
dangerous world is primarily an external reality.
It's a matter offavoiding hard edges, As children.
grow and assume the avcessary survival skills, the
challenge begins to shift, Danger is as much
internal as it is somewhere out there. It's an
inevitable shift defined by burgeoning will and
the onset of independence. The survival tools at
this.tevel must be powerlitl. ‘The power comes
from love, For any of us to succeed we niust be
open to express and receive love. *

Thar Loren was loved is without doubt,

Elundreds attended the service held June 6 at
Fist) Memorial

‘students and) staff of Handsworth, Carson
Graham, and Maple Ridge secondary schools, .
the schools iten aitended on and offduring his
list years, a

‘The words speak for themselves;

“The outpouring of love you have shewn |
for our dear son Loren has touched us prd-*
foundly. Your beautiful faces, smiles and tears
have brought us strength and happiness through
this, our most profound moment of grief,

Friday, Juna 1%, 1097 « North Shorg News « 9

“High THEE Ble”
“The High Lie
» June 1, 1997

High til) ie,
Choke whit | tke,
The shit don't stop,

Joie Tived this qdale,

Che hivhway weltlag hip hap,
Hodal ty the metal,
No Drakes of off ramps,
Qulirunnay Gaps,
Or wate Mey «apy yo ow
Direcllon Is blurry,
Lrugggs were three pruside, a
Shittine to hide,
‘The globe peumanntly clouded,

a Atliinishing ozone,
Affected by the Highness,
Meteorites chinsagiig the surfice,

© The core was stl hard, .

Home

June 1,1997 .-

Aawann, safe shelter,

A place to frequently enter,

Boxes, Bricks ar Wood, Depending
“on ifthe salary’s good

A lawn you can mow,
A flower you can grow

Moving around will bring a frown,
Especially if moving to a new town

Laving a mansion to own,
Beats having to roam

All alang, no money,
Better hope it’s sunny

_ Streets are fur bums,
We're lucky for mums,

‘LOREN Bradfield wrote

"two poems on the night
before he decidedto |
take his life. The young ,
North Vancouver man
left behind many who
loved him.

-* Detbrook family copes with teen suicide

arkest moments

if .
opal
i“ tharyou reached cout to-us, though, you

were ldealing-with your.awn pain, with visits,

hus, Kisses, notes, cards, flowers, photos and
phone calls, is a tribute to Loren, but itis alse a

tribute to the beautiful young people you all are.
». Your sensitivity and maturity has deeply touched

our fay ante extended family, We will cherish
your kindness forever,

vec it
a

““Afany of you left flowers, momentos, and

notes with Loren that he has taken with him to
Heaven. We placed the beautifil silver crucifix
around his neck — it was also left by one of you
angels, Bless you all,

“P know that Loren beard :your loving
farewells and felt your tender fast: touches. |
know that Friday, after the beautifit service and
the enormous display of love for him, Loren was

once again the lappy-go-icky guy we knew and

Funeral Services in’ North |
_ Vancouver. Linda and Guy want to thank the

‘loved — he was smiling his impish grin and was

finally at’ peace, 7

“As you go through fife you will see that
something positive can arise trom every tragedy,
Perhaps Loren's suicide will give pause to one of
you, Who ina moment of despair wish to end
your life,

“Think of the many people who love you and

reach out to them. You are loved by so maiy

who would do anything to help, Let thenr know

your pain and honor them by allowing them to
help. ;

“Fora brief moment Loren did not remem:
ber, May his gift to you be that each and every
one of you will remember, in your darkest
moments, you are loved and that tomorrow will
be anew, brighter day, You and those who love
you will thank God you did. "

“If Loren’s death has opened your eyes to
forgiving one another, to appreciating fife and
the great Jove that we all have for each other,
then perhaps that was God’s reason for taking

him. too soon.” '

Ae