EvanL
04-08-2006, 06:55 PM
Stefan Surette ambushed in Iraq last year
By INGRID DEONSTE. ANNE du RUISSEAU — One year after their son was killed in Iraq, Elaine and Ray Surette aren’t grieving in silence — instead, they’re planning a weekend festival.
Ms. Surette acknowledges it might seem unusual to hold a festival to mark the anniversary of Stefan’s death, but she didn’t want to mourn silently because "that’s not who he was."
"He was someone who loved life and I think he would be very upset if we were to be mourning him as opposed to celebrating," she said in an interview Thursday.
Stefan Surette, 30, was killed April 20, 2005, during a car ambush in Baghdad. He was working in Iraq as an employee of Edinburgh Risk Inc., a private British security firm.
He moved away from Nova Scotia more than 10 years ago to join the British military and was stationed in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Surettes are busy planning Stef fest, to be held June 16 to 18. They decided to hold the festival in June rather than next weekend because their daughter Jennifer is out of the country this month.
"We couldn’t hold it without her," said Elaine.
They expect more than 100 people from around the world to come to Ste. Anne du Ruisseau for the event. Mr. Surette said some of Stefan’s army buddies weren’t able to come to Nova Scotia for the memorial last year because they were in Afghanistan and Iraq, but many of them will be able to make it for Stef fest.
The festival will start with a meet and greet with lots of food, followed by an open mike to share stories about Stefan, and then live music and a mass. The weekend will end with a pig roast because, his mother said, he "loved to barbecue."
How would he feel about Stef fest? "He would say, ‘Way to go Mom!’ That’s just kind of what he was like."
Chester Muise, a high-school friend of Stefan’s, is planning a five-kilometre run in his memory April 29. All the proceeds will go to the memorial fund set up at the credit union.
( ideon@herald.ca (http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/%22mailto:ideon@herald.ca%22))
By INGRID DEONSTE. ANNE du RUISSEAU — One year after their son was killed in Iraq, Elaine and Ray Surette aren’t grieving in silence — instead, they’re planning a weekend festival.
Ms. Surette acknowledges it might seem unusual to hold a festival to mark the anniversary of Stefan’s death, but she didn’t want to mourn silently because "that’s not who he was."
"He was someone who loved life and I think he would be very upset if we were to be mourning him as opposed to celebrating," she said in an interview Thursday.
Stefan Surette, 30, was killed April 20, 2005, during a car ambush in Baghdad. He was working in Iraq as an employee of Edinburgh Risk Inc., a private British security firm.
He moved away from Nova Scotia more than 10 years ago to join the British military and was stationed in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Surettes are busy planning Stef fest, to be held June 16 to 18. They decided to hold the festival in June rather than next weekend because their daughter Jennifer is out of the country this month.
"We couldn’t hold it without her," said Elaine.
They expect more than 100 people from around the world to come to Ste. Anne du Ruisseau for the event. Mr. Surette said some of Stefan’s army buddies weren’t able to come to Nova Scotia for the memorial last year because they were in Afghanistan and Iraq, but many of them will be able to make it for Stef fest.
The festival will start with a meet and greet with lots of food, followed by an open mike to share stories about Stefan, and then live music and a mass. The weekend will end with a pig roast because, his mother said, he "loved to barbecue."
How would he feel about Stef fest? "He would say, ‘Way to go Mom!’ That’s just kind of what he was like."
Chester Muise, a high-school friend of Stefan’s, is planning a five-kilometre run in his memory April 29. All the proceeds will go to the memorial fund set up at the credit union.
( ideon@herald.ca (http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/%22mailto:ideon@herald.ca%22))