Two remembered

'The town is pretty sad now' Lloyd Gruben

Dawn Ostrem
Northern News Services

Tuktoyaktuk (Apr 20/01) - Family, friends and relatives in Tuktoyaktuk are trying to cope with the tragic loss of two loved and respected members of their community.

James Gruben, 43, and John Voudrach, 25, were killed in an accident April 13 on the Tuktoyaktuk-Inuvik ice road.

How it happened Voudrach was driving the pickup truck when it smashed into a gravel truck at the Swimming Point intersection about 70 kilometres away from Tuktoyaktuk, where the pickup was headed. The gravel truck then collided with another gravel truck, which was also hauling rock across the intersection. The gravel trucks were driven by Ian Kikoak of Tuktoyaktuk and Raymond Wainman of Inuvik. They were taken to hospital with minor injuries and later released. The nature of the ice-road that winds along the Mackenzie River from Inuvik to Tuk is always slippery but less when there is a layer of packed snow or roughed up. "I had trouble even standing up that night," explained Sgt. Brian Winters of the Inuvik RCMP detachment about the night of the accident. "If you looked down it was clear blue." The RCMP is finishing up its investigation into what it called an unfortunate accident.

"The town is pretty sad now," said James's cousin Lloyd Gruben. "James and John were both well-known in the community."

"James was a very friendly guy and tried to help out people as much as he could," said Lloyd. "John was very happy-go-lucky and always laughing and joking."

James was a highly respected pilot who often flew his Cessna 185 to and from a lodge he had on Husky Lake near Tuk. He often came back from trips with plenty of fish packed in his plane for elders and the rest of the community, said his cousin.

"He was considered one of the best bush pilots by anybody that flew with him," Lloyd added. "I remember one time when I was coming back from Husky Lake (on snowmobile) and a plane buzzed over me and it was James. He recognized me right away."

James also played a part in operating one of the biggest businesses in Tuktoyaktuk. He was a shareholder in Gruben's Transport Ltd, which was also operated by his father and older brother.

He was known for giving jobs to the people that needed them. His cousin said as well as his close friends and family, young kids he got work for will probably feel the loss.

"I think those are the ones who are really going to miss him," Lloyd said.

Carpenter in training

Voudrach was an apprentice carpenter under Dennis Pascal at the Tuktoytaktuk Housing Association.

Pascal said he was the type of person who waved at you no matter how many times you drove by. He said he was happy, even though working the association and dealing with tenant complaints was sometimes a thankless job.

"He'd do it very well," Pascal said. "He treated tenants with respect and he was nice to them."

Voudrach's funeral was held Apr. 17 and a memorial for Gruben was held April 18.