Family and friends are remembering Adrian Halushka, who drowned in Frame Lake on July 19.
His sister, Aaron Halushka, said that he was a true Northerner who loved and respected the land.
“I want him to be remembered for the beautiful heart that he was, not because of his life choices,” she said.
Adrian struggled with addiction, made more difficult for him by staying on the streets where others were drinking, she explained. She added that, despite the fact that he knew his sister and the rest of the family disapproved of his lifestyle, he would still call them and never asked for money.
“We all really love him,” she said through tears. “No matter what was going on, he always made sure to let us know he loved us.”
She said that he taught her how to make a fire, took her out on a Ski-Doo and on fishing trips. She explained that when she would tangle her fishing line, he would patiently untie it for her.
“He would take our sister, Hayley, who is blind out Ski-Dooing because he knew how much she loved it,” she said. “We loved him very much he will be dearly missed.”
Tina Abel, his girlfriend, said she was with him for more than nine years before he died.
“He said he would never leave me and that we would grow old together,” she said emotionally. “A few days later, he drowned.”
She added that he was an energetic and lively person and that they would often volunteer their time to help Halushka’s father, Jerry Halushka, with gardening.
“He was over here watering the garden every day,” said his father.
Jerry Halushka said that he had been getting a lot of attention from people his son knew since the incident occured.
“I’ve been getting messages that he had a really big heart, they loved his laugh and loved his company,” he said.
The elder Halushka said that his son liked living out on the land, fishing and trapping rabbits.
“He’s a real local,” he said. “He’s a diamond driller that was in and out of the bush over the last 30 years.”
William Aglukkaq, one of Halushka’s friends, said he met him in 2018 when they worked during their time at the Giant Mine remediation project.
He said that they were good friends but only spent time together at work or when they ran into each other.
“He always had a smile for me regardless of his situation,” he said.
Aglukkaq said he last saw Halushka just one hour before the incident that took his life.
“He looked me in the eyes and told me I was an angel,” he said.
Stephanie Dzentu said she met Halushka as a child when his dad and her mom started dating.
“Adrian and I both shared something super special and that’s our baby brother, Gerimia,” she said. “He was always a part of my life because he was my younger brother’s older brother, and he always called me sis.”
She said that throughout her childhood and teens, her brother, Aaron Halushka and herself would play fight with Adrian.
“Every time I would see him, it was always just so pleasant,” she said. “He was always so happy to see me.”
She added that even though her mom wasn’t Adrian’s mom, he would still call her mom anyway.
Death
According to Garth Eggenberger, the NWT’s chief coroner, Halushka was seen swimming alone to an island in Frame Lake on July 19. When it appeared that he was in trouble, emergency personnel was called to the scene.
Aaron Halushka said that her brother was on the rocks behind Stanton Territorial Hospital when he decided to swim to the island.
“He did it like 20 times before,” she said. “Personally, I think he had a heart attack but I don’t know.
“I think he over exerted himself.”
She told Yellowknifer that there would not be an autopsy but she did not know why.
