BONNYVILLE – A candle light vigil is hoping to light up the darkness with love and memories.
The event is being held at the gazebo in front of the Bonnyville Provincial building on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. in honour of Jake Sansom and Morris Cardinal.
“I just wanted to do something special because the boys were special,” expressed organizer Sarah Sansom, Jake’s wife. “They had no hate in their hearts and neither do we. We just want everybody to come together in light, love, and memory.”
Friends and family will be running the Bonnyville event, while Sarah and others will be in Nobleford on the same day doing the same thing.
Bonnyville RCMP responded to a call on March 28 of two males on a road outside of a parked truck. Officers determined the two males, who would later be identified as Sansom and Cardinal, were deceased and their deaths were deemed suspicious.
RCMP charged Anthony Bilodeau, 31, of Glendon with two counts of second-degree murder on April 2, and later charged Roger Bilodeau, 56, of Glendon with two counts of second-degree murder.
Sarah said the candle light vigil was organized to give families who had lost loved ones violently a safe place to go and to know they aren’t alone.
“If you lose a loved one to violence, it’s a whole different kind of grief because it’s a decision that somebody else made for you and your family,” she explained. “They take a life and destroy hundreds… It’s a different kind of grief because it doesn’t just end and heal. We can’t heal until all the courts are done and over with. Then we grieve and heal. So the grieving process when you lose someone to violence is 100 times harder and I can’t even imagine the ones that have never gotten answers of they’re loved ones are missing.”
Sarah said the event was inspired by Jake and everything he stood for.
“Jake just wanted people to feel loved and to help people,” she recalled. “He helped everybody; strangers, family, friends, it didn’t matter who he helped or they were, he was there every time. Since all of this happened, it caused a lot of tension. I can feel his spirit and it’s telling me that this is the time to love and not to get angry. We’re angry, but we don’t have hate in our hearts.”
After meeting in high school, Sarah and Jake didn’t start dating until they were in their 20s. They later got married and had three children.
“We went through stuff that most couples wouldn’t get through. We had our ups and downs, but it made our marriage stronger. Everything that we went through - the traumas, losses, and heartaches - it all made us stronger. Our children are amazing, gifted, and loved.”
Everyone is encouraged to attend the vigil, either in person or through social media via a live stream. Simply lighting a candle in your window is another way of letting organizers know their message is being heard.
