Garrett Lewis, a fourth-year civil engineering student, died on Aug. 20 after drowning off the shores of Saugeen First Nation. Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) recovered Lewis’ body on Aug. 23.
Friends and family remember Lewis as someone who was always open to helping others. Before his death, Lewis was planning on spending the last week of summer as a counsellor at a Knox Presbyterian Church camp.
Duncan Chalmers, a fourth-year Carleton journalism student, has known Lewis since they were born, their mothers having been friends for approximately 30 years.
“Few people were as kind or as thoughtful. [He] was just always excited and having a positive attitude about things . . . He was very passionate about things and had an incredible amount of knowledge,” Chalmers said. “He was very interested in sports and had an almost encyclopedic knowledge about hockey and sports cars.”
Chalmers and Lewis were supposed to live together this year, and Chalmers said he was excited to have a closer relationship to his family friend. He said he is going to miss the opportunity to see him every day.
“It has occurred to me that the most painful thing about someone dying is not what happened in the past, but what expectations you had for the future,” he said, and added he wished he had the opportunity to live with Lewis.
“I’m never going to get to talk to him again, and that will be how it is for us for the rest of my life,” Chalmers said.
Carole Chalmers, known affectionately by Lewis as Auntie Carole, said that he was not perfect, but he was a special person—someone who left an impression on a person.
“Garrett was very passionate about civil engineering, but his purpose in life was to love people and love God,” she said. “He was a giver. He spent a few nights in the hospital with friends who had drank too much . . . He was known to drink chocolate milk at parties, and so the kids always had that ready for him.”
Friends took to Lewis’ Facebook page to share memories of him, with family members also posting photos of Lewis growing up.
“Garrett Lewis approached the world at an incredibly positive place, even strangers would be treated as friends,” Jordan Powell wrote on his Facebook page, tagging Lewis in the post. “Garrett did not take his life for granted. He always gave his time and energy freely. He would inconvenience himself for others constantly, and he never ever complained.”
“The department is saddened by the loss of the Garrett Lewis,” said Paul Van Geel, chair of the civil and environmental engineering department, who noted that he did not know Lewis personally. “We have sent our condolences out to Lewis’ friends and family.”
Lewis is one of three deaths in the area, with a sixteen year old Godrich Ont. boy drowning several weeks before, and a father drowning trying to save his 13-year-old daughter a few years ago, according to York Region newspaper.
Community members are now calling for a memorial to serve as a reminder to the danger of the waters of the area.
Grief counselling is available to all Carleton students, said Maureen Murdock, the director of health services and counselling on campus.
“If there is an issue we are always there for students,” said Murdock. “If a request for a group debriefing is put in, we will organize a group session, but at the moment no request has been made. We have had a few students come in on their own. If we find there is a need, we are happy to do it—that is what we’re here for.”
