‘He was a real-life hero… the love of my life’: Wife of Alberta helicopter pilot | 24CA News
The helicopter pilot who misplaced his life whereas battling wildfires in northern Alberta is being remembered as an unbelievable father to his sons and a fiercely loyal member of the family, colleague and pal.
A Bell 205A helicopter operated by Valhalla Helicopters went down in a marshy space northeast of Peace River Wednesday night. The pilot, 41-year-old Ryan Gould, didn’t survive.
The Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.
Speaking to Global News on Friday, Ryan’s spouse Carlyn Gould mentioned her husband’s old flame was flying.
“He had been doing this for over 20 years. He was very experienced in wildfires,” she mentioned.
Carlyn described Ryan as her rock — a “real-life hero.”
“I name him a hero as a result of within the 20 years of flying fires throughout Canada, within the U.S., and in Australia, he has stored many crews protected from being taken out in fires. He has saved individuals’s properties and their livelihoods. He has taken care of the individuals, and never simply fought the fires.
“He was very convicted and hard-working,” she added. “He wore his heart on his sleeve. He was our protector. He loved our kids, me, his family, his community. He loved his work. It was more than just a job; it was a second family.”
Carlyn and Ryan Gould.
Supplied: Carlyn Gould
Carlyn mentioned she couldn’t have requested for a greater father for his or her youngsters — aged seven and 9.
Ryan was about 10 days right into a 14-day tour, she mentioned.
Carlyn and the boys spoke to Ryan on the telephone each evening when he was achieved work.
“My youngest, the seven-year-old, liked to ask Daddy specifically about what he did and how many hours and how many things did he save that day?”
“We all had a conversation with him the day before he died,” she mentioned. “And the only reason we missed his call the day he died was because when he would have called, he was already gone.”
“He was the love of my life. My kids adore him. He had a great sense of humour.
“He was, on the exterior some would say, a big grizzly bear, but he was the biggest teddy bear on the inside,” she mentioned.
“He had the biggest heart, whether it was for his family, for the people he worked with, the animals on our farm here.”
Ryan Gould together with his two sons.
Supplied: Carlyn Gould
She mentioned, as a pilot, he must be away for weeks at a time, however when he got here residence, he made essentially the most of it — spending time with the household, homeschooling the children, cleansing and serving to round the home.
“Despite him being gone to provide for us, when he walked in that door, it didn’t matter how tired he was, he lit up for our family. He would immediately be there for all of us. He was present in every way.”
As a household of a pilot, they knew the dangers however tried to not dwell on them.
“We, as a family, for other reasons in our lives, always lived by a very strong motto, which was: Don’t wait until it’s too late. We believed in it, we said it often, we repeated it, we lived it,” Carlyn mentioned.
“We always had good, connected time and interactions and memories with him. And we have no regrets. We have no words that were unsaid and no love that wasn’t given and shared.”
Ryan Gould, in a photograph provided by his household.
Supplied: Carlyn Gould
She mentioned her husband was “an insanely loyal person.”
“He wouldn’t have mentioned he was a social particular person … however he may stroll right into a room full of individuals and light-weight it up and make them chuckle.
“I knew he had that before, but in the last couple of days since he died, I have experienced the impact and the magnitude of who he was and what he did from so many people across the country. It is actually astounding to me that he was that valued and appreciated and loved by so many people I didn’t even know about.”
Ryan beloved working for Valhalla Helicopters and the individuals there have been like a second household, Carlyn mentioned.
“They have been wonderful and their help is very much appreciated,” she added.
A fundraising web page has been created to assist assist the household, who lives in Whitecourt, Alta.
“I’m very thankful for it because of our situation,” Carlyn mentioned. “Because of my husband’s profession, having issues like insurance coverage in your mortgage and in your life was not an choice for us. It could be very value prohibitive to have if you selected a life as a pilot, so we didn’t have these issues in place.
“It has added a lot of stress to my life because I worry my kids will lose more than just their daddy. They could lose their home and everything that Ryan and I tried to build for our family and for our future.”
She mentioned the skin assist is sort of a life raft for the household.
“It’s definitely helping take the pressure off … so that we can move through the steps of grieving over Ryan,” Carlyn mentioned.
She mentioned she’ll all the time bear in mind the superb man he was.
“He had a great impact … My kids and I were blessed, even though our time was cut way too short. At least we got years with him, because he was a gem.
“He’s greatly missed. There’s a very big hole and void left behind and there will always be that void.”
