JASPER – An urn containing the ashes of a Jasper family’s treasured dog was miraculously pulled intact from the rubble of a home that was scorched to the ground in the wildfire that destroyed one-third of the national park townsite.
Terry Lonsberry, a former Jasper volunteer firefighter, said Bailey – a 165-pound mastiff that died in 2022 that was literally this man’s best friend – has saved his life in more ways than one, including when he hit rock bottom several years ago and contemplated taking his own life.
He said the urn – along with a fired clay piece containing Bailey’s paw prints that is also largely undamaged – had been placed on the driveway of the family’s Brewster Crescent home in what he calls a “small miracle out of the ashes for me.”
“Bailey was my rock. She saw me through everything,” he said, adding he learned the urn had not been destroyed when he saw a photo.
“She was there through the darkest days of my life, and I can honestly say I wouldn’t have been here without her.”
Brought on by many challenging events including a serious accident, coming to terms with his adoption and other significant hurdles life threw his way, Lonsberry said Bailey helped him survive life’s struggles at his lowest point.
“I went through a really dark time in my life and at one point ended up suicidal, to the point where I had actually planned and prepared my suicide and was going to take Bailey with me,” he said.
“She saved my life … she started whining and pawing at me. When I saw the look on her face, it’s like, 'you can’t do this’. I can’t do this to myself and I can’t do this to her.”
After that, Lonsberry got the help and support he needed to get him to the place he is today.
“That is why she was more than a dog to me,” he said.
Along with his aging parents and one of his brothers, Lonsberry fled Jasper on July 22 when evacuation of the Jasper townsite was ordered as raging wildfires approached from both the south and north of the national park townsite.
In the rush to leave, with just two hours’ notice for evacuation, he said he simply forgot the urn that had its place on the fireplace mantle in the living room of the family’s Brewster Crescent home.
“It killed me that I left it,” Lonsberry said.
“In your evacuation orders, they tell you to grab clothes and food for 72 hours and your important papers, but when you leave, you don’t think you’re not coming back.”
Fleeing with practically the clothes on their backs, as well as food, water and some medication, Lonsberry said he got separated from his brother and their parents when his truck and camper broke down.
They had come together in the family home to celebrate the birthday of one of his brothers. His mother, Gail, had been a pharmacist in Jasper for 60 years before her retirement at 81 years of age, while his dad, Donald, had worked for Parks Canada’s highway services department for roughly 35 years.
“The priority for us was getting my parents to my brother’s in Cochrane, where they would have some stability,” he said.
Lonsberry said early photos coming out of Jasper in the aftermath of the wildfire showed their home, and their neighbours’ houses, had been burned to the ground.
“If you look at the pictures, it's completely vaporized and there’s absolutely nothing of any kind left anywhere,” he said.
For Lonsberry, that’s what makes it so unbelievable that the urn and Hailey’s ashes in a plastic bag inside weren't destroyed, with only the rim that held it closed having melted.
“When it burnt, it would have went straight down in the basement … it’s a miracle it didn’t break.”
The Lonsberry’s two-storey house was built 43 years ago, with his grandfather, dad, his dad’s cousin and he and his brothers all chipping in.
“We didn’t use a contractor or anything … it was a family affair building that home,” Lonsberry said.
“Every now and then, the odd family friend would come and pitch in a hand, but every board and every nail of that house was put in place by family.”
For now, Lonsberry said he is thankful everyone made it out of Jasper alive and feels blessed. He remains in Kamloops hoping to get his truck and camper fixed.
These days, Lonsberry has a new dog called Sophie, but he desperately wants to find the person who pulled the urn with Bailey’s ashes from the rubble of his home.
“Somebody in all the chaos and everything that was going on, somebody actually had to go to my house and do that and they will forever have my greatest thanks,” he said.
“I would like to give them a hug and say thank you properly. This helps heal my heart.”
A Go-Fund-Me account has been set up for Lonsberry at www.gofundme.com/f/comox-firefighters-raising-money-for-a-past-member-in-need.
