Celebrating Greg's life

In early November we published a blog post we were hoping we'd never have to write. It was in remembrance of our friend and colleague Greg Newby. 

Since Greg's passing it has been an adjustment. From re-assigning projects, packing up his desk and now looking to hire someone to fill his shoes and vision for the government's digital credentials and identity program. 

One bright moment was taking some time away from the office to gather with past and present team members and Greg's wife, Ilana. We mentioned in the first blog post we were hoping to celebrate Greg's life at a local glass-blowing studio and a couple of weeks ago we did just that.

The idea was to have lunch and share memories of Greg and we wanted to be a part of creating something in his memory. We had determined we'd do two glass-blown huskies, but we hadn't quite figured out which of their dogs to pick. I should mention here that we were not the ones bringing this vision to life, it was the work of Lu and her assistant. We wanted the final product to resemble an actual dog!

For those who do not know, Greg and Ilana own and operate a rescue dog sledding kennel in Whitehorse. And they have pet dogs as well. When Ilana arrived we decided to go with two of their pet dogs called Moose and Floppy. 

While we started ordering and eating lunch, we began the process of picking out the colours that would be used. The process was really engaging. Their staff printed out photos of the dogs and asked they about their personalities. This process brought up some good memories of Greg and the adventures he and Ilana had with these dogs - and there were many!

Lu created Moose first. 

Moose is also known as: Oaf, Zeus (his real name), Caboose, Booba and Bubba. 

He's an 11-year-old husky and a big boy. 

According to the Stinky Pup website, "He loves to run, but is not super fast. He loves to play with his brother Wayne."

Watching how Lu kept going back and forth from her workbench, to the kiln to the colours and then to the photos of the dogs was like watching an air-traffic controller landing planes. There was a lot going on, but she had her vision and she landed it with seemingly little effort!

Next up was Floppy. 

Floppy was in visiting Greg the last time I saw him. He sweetly sat at Greg's feed while Greg fed him apple slices and patted him on the head. 

Floppy also goes by Flopster,  Flop, and Flop-a-loo.

He's around 12 years old according to his made up birthdate and he's also a husky, but his ears are floppy. 

Floppy wasn't a good sled dog, but he is a good pet dog and quite the gentleman according to their website. 

As we were done eating, we were able to focus more on the process of creating this work of art. From the careful placement of the colours on the glass table where Lu created Floppy in 1 dimension to seeing the blob of hot glass take shape with the colours in 3 dimension was a journey. Just like this entire outing with the team was part of our journey to heal from this loss. The healthy, fresh food, the warmth of the glass furnace and the conversations filled with love and memories have been important steps in the healing process.

Reflecting upon this a couple of weeks later, I could see the whole process of creating the dogs was similar to the process of healing from a loss. The intense feelings we all felt upon hearing of Greg's passing reminded me of the hot blast of air I felt when the glass furnace doors opened wide. As the hot air grew in intensity I wanted to get away from it. 

Once the artist gets the glass to the final form and it begins to cool, you get excited and you want to take it home, but it has to go into an annealer so it can cool slowly. It it cools too fast, the glass will be weak and could easily crack. We often want to rush through the intense feelings, but if we do, just like the glass - we might crack. It's important to be patient and kind to ourselves as we all move through the steps of processing our loss. We'll be stronger for it at the end.

The plan for the glass dogs

As a team we decided we cannot separate them. They really are a pair. We had originally intended to give one to Ilana and hang onto one to display in the office. 

We've decided to take a photo of them and we'll hang that in the boardroom we've had named in Greg's honour. Glass Moose and Floppy will go to Ilana. Our hope is looking at them will remind her of the many wonderful memories she made with Greg.

Thanks to everyone for participating

On behalf of the eServices team I wanted to say thanks so much to all of our colleagues who contributed toward commissioning the art, came to share stories or offer condolences or just be there to support us. It has meant so much to us and we're grateful for your support.