The friends that I remember from that time of your life are:

• Jimmy Rekunyk – DOB January, 16, 1950
• Doug Rekunyk
• Kenny Allen
• Earl Hughes
• Wayne Sagmoen

You were a close knit group of friends and you all lived in the same area of Coquitlam.

Sadly, Jimmy passed away suddenly on March 14, 2021. No cause of death is listed. He was just a great person and a great friend to you. He was also a very dedicated teacher and lifeguard.

As Jimmy became a teacher, did he influence you to become a teacher too? No matter what, you made the right decision.

Doug Rekunyk was Jim’s younger brother. He attended Simon Fraser University and lives in Kelowna.

I knew two more Rekunyk younger siblings, Drew and Peggy. I don’t know if they both went to Centennial but I remember them from Montgomery. Drew was like Doug, a little wild and crazy and I will never forget Peggy’s inability to pronounce the word Balloon, she called it a balloo-in.

Kenny Allen was also your very good friend. I couldn’t find any information on Ken but I do know that he became a butcher and eventually moved to Tasmania.

I didn’t know Earl or Wayne well. Wayne once fell off of a roof that he was working construction on while watching my friend and I walk by the building. That was funny.

This is the corner of Austin Road and Poirier Avenue. There used to be a convenience store less than a block away to the west. All of the neighbourhood kids used to go there to buy penny candy and popsicles. You and your friends would sit on the stairs outside the store.