The daughter of a man who died in the fire that destroyed the Driftwood Inn in Deer Lake last weekend wants to send her thanks to the people of the town who have been so helpful to her family as they navigate through their loss.
Seventy-seven-year-old Eugene Earl Spoon of Winfield, Kansas was in Newfoundland on a dream hunting trip.
(Submitted)
Spoon was an avid hunter, and he travelled to Newfoundland to fulfill his desire to get a moose.
A card he sent his daughter Gina Heller in California, which arrived after he passed, outlined what a wonderful time he was having.
“Just living the dream, life is to be experienced. I’m doing that. I hope to get a moose, I will keep you informed. Call you and text you later, all my love, Dad.”
Spoon got his moose and the family donated the meat in his memory.
Heller believes her father took a few extra seconds to get dressed before leaving the hotel, not realizing that time was not on his side.
In the meantime, Heller says the family pieced together which part of the hotel he was in based on pictures being shared of the fire scene. She believes her father has been sending her and her sister signs since his passing, including where he was in the hotel.
“We knew that the back of his wall wasn’t burnt, we knew where to look. So we found his room before they were able to recover him, and there was a rainbow outside of the window, like, going into the window.”
(Submitted)
