40 years after their dad's tragic death in Yukon, 2 siblings finds joy in his memory

Nitasha Likhani and Michael Wick grew up not knowing much about their dad, or his life in Yukon.

Gary Wick moved to Whitehorse from Edmonton in 1975. A talented butcher and musician, he quickly made a name for himself on the local music scene. Whitehorse was a rowdy town back then, and Nitasha and Michael's mom decided to raise them down south instead.

Wick was killed in January, 1979, murdered in his cabin by a man who had escaped from the Whitehorse Correctional Centre. Nitasha was just two-and-a-half years old, Michael was about a year old. They didn't have much contact with their father's parents after his death, and the memory seemed too painful for their mom.

"My Dad has always been of interest to me, always, my whole life," said Likhani. "I've always wanted to just know — there had to be more to him than his death."

Likhani recently posted on a popular Facebook page called Yukon History & Abandoned Places, asking if there was anyone in Whitehorse who remembered her dad. 

The post blew up. Dozens of people shared stories about her dad, photos, and even music of his band Bootjack.

Likhani said she was shocked by how many people remembered her father and wanted to share their stories.

"The amount of love, and the amount of people that were willing to share, I'm overwhelmed. I'm humbled...for the first time in my life I feel like I belong to my dad and I feel like people want to share his life with us. Not his death, but his life."

"For me, it's definitely been an eye-opener," said Michael Wick. "When you only know that your dad passed away somewhere and you never really knew him, and [you learn] he was a public figure — it's a real eye-opener."

Leader of Bootjack

A lot of the memories people in Whitehorse have of Gary Wick are centred on his time in the band Bootjack. The band started by playing together at Sunday jams at the Kopper King Tavern, and eventually became the well-known night spot's house band.

Rob Bergman played bass in Bootjack, and said Wick was the leader of the group. A multi-instrumentalist, Wick would sometimes pull out a ukulele and lead them through a set of Hawaiian music, then don a fur jacket and pick up an accordion to play a few polka tunes.

"I only knew him for maybe two years, but he's still with me in spirit," said Bergman. "He was quite passionate about his ideas in the band and where he wanted to go with it."

One of the few mementos the family has of Wick's time in Yukon is a cassette of Bootjack songs.

"We were only aware of one song being from my dad," said Likhani. "So we would always fast-forward through to that one song not knowing there was this whole two sides [of music] that was my dad."

Since the initial Facebook post, Likhani and Michael Wick have communicated with other members of Bootjack and people who were in Whitehorse in the '70s and remember their dad.

"I feel so much closer to my dad, it's crazy," Likhani said. "I feel like I'm finding pieces of me that have been missing my whole entire life. I finally listened to the Bootjack cassette the whole way through, and to hear the words 'I love you' said by my dad, I can't even put it into words ... it was amazing."

Bergman said Wick's sudden and senseless death is still painful for people who knew him. Rob's brother, the late Bruce Bergman, once wrote a heartfelt tribute to Gary Wick called Away and Gone.

"It was pretty surreal being young and not having experienced any kind of death in my family or close friends," said Rob.

"It took years to sort it out ... Bruce said it best in his song: 'you took away a man and all his plans' — and he had plans. He was quiet, he was private. He didn't talk about his kids. A lot of people that knew him didn't even know he had kids. This has stirred up a lot of stuff."

Bergman still has one of Wick's guitars and his old toolbox. He's offered to ship the items to Likhani, but she said she may wait until she and Michael are able to travel to Yukon and see them.

"I get my dad's death was a huge tragedy and a huge loss to everybody out there," Likhani said.

"But I really want them to know Mike and I are past the tragedy. We just want to love, and we want to feel the love, and I know that's something that was very important to my dad. So Whitehorse, here comes some more of Gary ... we can't wait to meet all of our new family."