Sandy Loutitt died suddenly on Dec. 29, of acute congestive heart failure due to coronary artery disease. He was 65.

Sandy Loutitt - photo courtesy of Steve Loutitt

Over 250 people turned out for his funeral on Jan. 7, a testament to his impact on this community.

Loutitt, the eldest of six children, lived here 62 of his 65 years, moving to Yellowknife with his family in 1938. He loved hockey and played locally for the senior hockey team the Yellowknife Town Indians and with the oldtimer team, the Ol' Blasters.

When he was 15, he was asked to tryout for the Chicago Blackhawks -- but never made the tryouts because the Moose Jaw arena burned down.

Loutitt spent 20 years at the Yellowknife Fire Department -- first as a volunteer in 1968 and then as a full-time firefighter beginning in 1978. In 1988 he received the Exemplary Fire Service Medal from the Governor General for 20 years of service and retired as captain. He left the department and opened a fire safety service company -- Fyremaster -- which he operated until 1997.

His 33-year-old son Steve is following in his father's footsteps as a captain with the Yellowknife Airport fire department.

"I remember how happy he was when I was promoted to fire captain," smiles Steve, who has maintained a very close relationship with his dad.

They also shared a passion for hockey. As a youngster Steve would watch his dad play on the Ol' Blasters team.

And dad would rarely miss a game Steve was playing -- even while on duty at the fire hall.

Yellowknife fire chief Mike Beauchamp has known Sandy all his life, from watching him play hockey and working with him at Decker Oil (Esso) to battling fires with the Yellowknife fire department.

"He was always the person who liked to have fun even when in a serious situation," said Beauchamp. "Sandy would introduce a little humour to get everybody relaxed."

Beauchamp has a lot of fond memories of Loutitt as a prankster, whom he described as an "easy outgoing person".

He admired Loutitt's attitude toward the fire department most of all.

"He was not overly aggressive. Just very steady."

Steve admired his father's independence and his knowledge of everything from plumbing to carpentry.

"He was able to do anything," said Steve. "I admired how complete he was. He had the ability and knowledge of everything ... He was a very complete person."

Sandy spent the past two years travelling across Canada, visiting family and friends in his fifth wheel travel trailer.

His remains were cremated and will be interred this summer in the family plot at Fort Smith.