It’s what Cameron Downey would have wanted – rubber chickens flying through the air, family and friends bashing each other with padded weapons and a little Weird Al Yankovic playing in the background.
That was the scene on Saturday during a celebration of life in honour of the Guelph man who was killed on the job last month while working at an industrial site in Mississauga.
“He was a glorious weirdo, glorious,” said Charlene Downey, Cameron’s mom, from a stage at Rockmosa Community Centre in Rockwood. “You all kind of know Cameron to be weird, and you know him to be a protector, and you know him to be a fabulous, incredible person.”
Cameron, who graduated from John F. Ross high school after being home schooled in his younger years, was filled with compassion for others and was always quick to lend a helping hand to anyone he thought needed one.
“He was a very special person. He was uniquely giving, to the point of a fault,” friend Garett Hendricks said of Cameron. “He would routinely feed anyone and everyone he could. It was his passion in life to make sure people were fed and happy with what they were fed.”
Not only did Cameron volunteer about 10,000 hours at the Royal City Mission soup kitchen, Hendricks said he essentially catered about 30 live action role play gatherings – known as LARPing – that attracted between 20 and 200 participants.
“He stood and he protected. And one of the ways he did that was by cooking. So if he cooked for you, it's because he loved you,” said Charlene. “That was his love language. That and a massive, great big pair of bear hugs.”
Cameron was eager to lend a hand during joint family trips, recalls family friend Judy Witty.
“He would always watch out for the little ones and was always in there helping out with everything we could ever need,” she said. “What kid offers himself up to everybody, all the time?”
Witty and Charlene used to do vendor shows throughout southern Ontario to sell hats they made, and Cameron was always right there to help with setup and more.
“Cam had a really strong sense of who he is, what he wanted and what he liked … even at a young age,” said John Martin-Holmes, who was Cameron’s youth leader at Kortright Presbyterian Church from 2008 to 2011. “He operated out of his Cam heart rather than everybody else’s expectations.
“He had a wonderful heart and a quick wit.”
As a young teenager, Cameron “found his people” when he discovered the world of LARPing. Numerous people from the LARPing community, including some from as far away as Sudbury and Ottawa, turned out for the celebration of life.
Many of them attended with their armour and related attire on, ready to battle in memory of Cam.
Among those in the LARPing community, Cameron was known as a “quirky person,” noted Chase Tymstra, who met Cam when he lived in Guelph for a few years.
“He never wore shoes … despite how much we protested and insisted that he wear shoes, regardless of where we were doing our LARPs, whether it was at a park or in a forest or in a field somewhere,” Tymstra said of Cameron.
“I think it started as a character thing – he wanted to be similar to a hobbit when he first started. … Then it kind of just became his thing.”
During the celebration of life, experienced and first-time LARPers armed themselves with padded weapons and tested their abilities in battle.
“He was a massive part of our game and our community, and one of my dearest friends. I miss him very much,” said Hendricks. “I hope I can do him proud by giving back to the game the way he did.”
During the celebration of life, people had an opportunity to write down their favourite memories of Cameron – tales to be compiled and put in a book for his family.
Visitors also had a chance to play board games with Cameron, using dice that contained some of his ashes.
Donations for Royal City Mission were also accepted and leftovers were taken to the mission so, as Charlene put it, Cameron could feed more of his friends one more time.
The Ministry of Labour is investigating the circumstances surrounding Cameron’s death.
Peel Regional Police responded to an industrial accident at Dundas Street East and Wharton Way in Mississauga at about 6 p.m. on Oct. 10.
“The industrial accident was not deemed suspicious and the Ministry of Labour took over the investigation,” said Const. Michelle Stafford, public information officer with Peel Regional Police, previously told GuelphToday via email.
Charlene said she’s in contact with a lawyer and may take legal action in an effort to ensure the people responsible for her son’s death are held accountable.
