Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is very rare nowadays to meet someone who leaves an imprint in your life that made them unforgettable, a mark larger than life, an imprint that made you yearn to be a better person.
Mr. Speaker, our community lost one of our beloved, long-time sport volunteers and humanitarians recently to cancer. He was a very special man, a man who touched my life and many others in ways that I was never able to share until today. I know he’s looking down on us; so, Mr. Chris Bergman, I want to thank you and let you know you will be missed.
Long before I knew Chris Bergman, he was a standout football athlete with Idaho State, who followed in his father’s footsteps and pursued a career in law enforcement. Early on in his RCMP career, Chris’s journey took him north to Inuvik and many other communities in the Mackenzie Delta. It was in Inuvik where Chris met his wife, Dot, who was a nurse, and they embarked on a northern life together to places like Pond Inlet, Fort Smith, Regina, Red Deer, Ottawa and eventually Yellowknife, which they called home for 25 years.
Chris Bergman retired from the RCMP as a staff sergeant after 28 incredible years and served as director of Sport North. Finally, after a brief stint in Airdrie, Alberta, Chris and Dot returned to Range Lake where he worked for Diavik Diamond Mine for the last 10 years.
This larger than life, humble man was a tireless community member and humanitarian. He actively supported many organizations, including the Yellowknife Seniors’ Society, Yellowknife Food Rescue and Special Olympics. However, those of us who knew Chris Bergman, knew very well that minor hockey was his true inspiration and his ultimate legacy.
Through all these noteworthy contributions, Chris’s proudest achievements were his children – Jennifer, Peter and Kimberly – and later, his son-in-law Steve and daughter-in-law Tasha, along with his grandchildren, Abigail, Noah, Ava, Nate, Journey and Lane, could all be seen at events where you knew “Old Man Bergman” was in the house as his huge, notable, proud voice could be heard over the noisiest of venues.
Chris’s life and legacy left such a great impression on so many of us that it makes it easy to share a little bit of his humble way moving forward. At least, I long to try to live my life just like Mr. Bergman, whether it’s expected of me and many of us.
An emptiness will be felt in the lives of many Northerners, a space only as large as the man who filled it, but the memories are larger, the impact even greater. He was loved and he will be missed. But as the tears of grief, tears of joy fall, joy at the fact that Mr. Chris Bergman walks on streets of gold today, singing the hymn of Hockey Night in Canada, with a smile. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues.
