Patrick Audley // Identity Collected

When I was in grade 7 I moved in to my Grampa's house where my father was living. I feel that my life was greatly enriched by having the chance to live with my grampa; North American values usually leave everyone more than one generation removed living elsewhere. He gave me a lot of my perspective on life and he was a large influence during my early teens. Some of my ethics came from him, as do much of my manners.

When he passed away, I was very sad until I saw the body in the hospital... I remember thinking, "That's not him," and the sadness lifted. It's taken me years to realize that even back then I saw that he would live on forever in the ever expanding circle of people and events that he'd touched. He was truly a great man: he was the head civil architect of Edmonton for many years, he won the Alberta Achievement Award for community service, he was constantly involved with his church, he won both the Silver Wolf and the 50yr Service Pin from the Boy Scouts (two of their highest honours), and most importantly to me, he was my grandfather.

I will always cherish his memory and feel it proding me on to become more than I am.

Born to Brenda and Bruce Audley.

It’s odd, talking about myself is never a problem but when writing about myself I tend to be at a loss for words.

I’ve been through from rough times with my father: the death of my grandfather, the Real Estate Crisis and many more.

From my father I gained my ability to interact with people. That sounds like a basic skill but it’s far from it. Being able to connect and communicate with anyone in any circumstance is challenging and my father is the one who gave me the skills to do it effortlessly. Every facet of my life is interwoven with threads of communication; thanks to my father, those threads are strong and thick.

Born of George Audley and [lifelinelink: GRAMMAA, Catherine Bohychuk].

What more can you say, it’s my mother. That word means so much to me: mentor, parent, friend, confidant, consoler, conspirator.

From my mother I gained my love of learning; she read to me before I could speak and was the person who taught me to program when I was six. Who knew from those humble beginnings would develop my innate ability with information to the peak it is today.

In 1994, Jan (see below), a flight attendant with Canadian introduced my Mom to Rick her cousin. They were married that December.

Born of Stanley Bayrack and Nellie Fedoruk.

She was a big proponent of Edmonton’s Klondike Days and sewed Klondike costumes every year for the family. (see image below)