‘My heart feels like a hollow shell’: B.C. man honours wife, baby killed by fallen tree

A memorial was held in Comox on Sunday night for a young mother and her five-month-old son who died in a tragic accident last month.

Lynae Wolchuk, 26, and her baby, Elias, were killed after a tree fell on them at a campground on Comox Lake on July 31.

The family organized a special community gathering at Comox Marina Park to honour them and thank the community for an outpouring of support.

Josh Wolchuk, Lynae’s husband and Elias’ father, spoke publicly for the first time following the tragedy.

“Last June, when you told me we were having a baby, I could see the excitement in your eyes,” he said.

“Finally, something you always wanted to be, a mama of your own. Pregnancy was a breeze, you carried our boy for nine months with dignity and poise.

“On Feb. 16, when Elias was born, it was the best day of our lives.”

Wolchuk said his life will never be whole again.

“My heart feels like a hollow shell, losing the loves of my life in one day.”

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The RCMP is investigating the tragedy along with the BC Coroners Service, but says criminality is not suspected in the incident.

Cumberland Deputy Fire Chief Stephane Dionne told Global News last week that the tree was between 25 and 40 cm in diameter and had been growing about 20 metres into the woods.