By Greg Fry

‘A void that will never be filled’: Friend mourns Kamloops man killed on the job

Jul 2, 2018 | 12:10 PM

KAMLOOPS — “He was wise beyond his years.”

The words of Jesse Bochek in describing his close friend Brendan Stokes, who was killed while at work in Kamloops Friday.

The 19 year old Stokes lost his life while repairing a Caterpillar Wheel Loader at a workplace in Dallas.

Worksafe BC and the BC Coroners Service are investigating.

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“He walked into a room and just made everyone smile. He made everything bright again,” Bochek recalls when asked what his friend was like. “He had this magnetic personality that would just draw you in. If you weren’t smiling when you were there, he would make sure you were. It’s a void I don’t think will ever be filled.”

Stokes spent some time running Bochek’s run for Kamloops city council last fall and Bochek says the support he provided him is something he’ll never forget.

“What sticks out most was election night. He was at my door within minutes of the final results coming him. He gave me a pep talk and told me he was so proud of me and that I’d really made a difference. That meant a lot to me.”

Bochek, who works as a courier, says the last time he saw Brendan was Thursday — just a day prior to his passing. 

“If I had known, I’d have taken a little more time,” he says, adding the death hasn’t quite sunk in yet.

“I’m more or less suspended in disbelief, just because he was like a celebrity to me. He was someone I really looked up to. Even though he was so much younger than me, he had so much more to give.”