As Micha Dauda described his funny, sociable, best friend Seamus Gee, he smiled at the memory.
"He was an interesting guy, you know," Dauda remarked.
"He was the foolish guy, in the best ways. He always had the right energy. In our group he was like he was like the missing puzzle piece. He connected everybody together."
But as the conversation turned to Seamus' death in 2019 at the age of 16, the smile faded.
"I would say, you know, cherish your loved ones, your family, because they're more important than you know," Dauda commented.
"Because we don't want to wait until they're gone to find that out."
Dauda and other friends, family members and supporters braved bad weather to take part in the third annual Seamus Gee Stroll and fundraiser for youth held in Langley's Campbell Valley Regional Park under heavy rain on Sunday, June 2.
"It's all about Seamus and keeping his memory alive," said his dad Mike, the event organizer.
"When he was here with us, he was always a giving kid, helping others [including] classmates, pulling people together as groups. That's kind of what this is all about, to do that, and to help more youth and the community and help not only kids but the families as well."
After Seamus died, his dad Mike began holding fundraising events to help support the youth in the community and Foundry Langley, operated by the local Encompass Support Services Society which provides health care, mental health and drug counselling, and social services to teens and young adults.
Mike also established the non-profit Seamus Gee Legacy Project to help local students access trades programs, as well as community and school sports programs.
In its first two years, the stroll raised $6,000 while attendance doubled from 50 the first year to more than 100 in the second.
Due to the downpour, there were fewer participants at the third stroll, which a philosophical Mike said would still be a nice "picnic for friends."
Friends like Colleen Dzogan, Seamus' rugby coach, who remembered Seamus as a "happy kid."
"He was always the centre of everything that was going on," Dzongan told the Langley Advance Times.
"He was always organizing events. He was kind of the hub of the social activity for [his friends] ever since they were just tiny."
Among the participants was Christine McCracken, executive director of programs with Encompass support services, who thanked Mike for his fundraising and advice.
"He's just been a wealth of knowledge."
More information about the Seamus Gee Legacy Project, can be found online at www.facebook.com/seamusgeelegacy/.