> The life of Gabriel Pollard,

Gabriel Pollard’s life as a sailor, foodie and animal lover was supposed to end at the hands of a severe form of muscular dystrophy — not a freak sailing accident.

Gabriel, 16, had just finished sailing with the Disabled Sailing Association of Victoria when he was dropped while being lifted from a sailboat onto a dock at Canadian Forces Base in Esquimalt on June 21 at about 4 p.m. He was pronounced dead at Victoria General Hospital.

“I knew Gabriel was going to die from muscular dystrophy in the far future but I was not thinking he would die on Thursday,” said his mother Carrie Pollard.

“He was living life, living large, so for him to die like that it’s the worst possible thing that could happen,” Pollard said. “He was as healthy as a kid could be.”

Gabriel was a physically active child until he started to stumble at age four.

He was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a severe form, of which there are nine types. The progressive muscle-wasting condition primarily affects boys and progresses quickly. The average life expectancy is about 26.

Gabriel was in a power wheelchair by Grade 5 but that never stopped his active lifestyle. He got to school on his own, went to outdoor concerts, loved restaurants and was an ambassador for the Vancouver Island Muscular Dystrophy Association.

He loved Victoria Harbour Cats baseball games, Victoria Royals hockey games and was “retro” in his love of music by the likes of Johnny Cash.

“He was a funny and talkative guy with an excellent sense of humour,” said Carrie Pollard.

“He could hold the room in any conversation because he spent a lot of time around adults — but he was really good with little kids, too.”

And he was adventurous. He had sailed for about three years, often going out solo in disabled-assisted boats.

“It was one of the few things he could do by himself,” his mother said. He couldn’t walk or lift his arms over his head.

Out in Esquimalt Harbour he would sometimes court danger, going too close to the warships before getting a warning.

Uncle Marcus Pollard had been looking forward to all the things he would do with his nephew this summer.

“He had so many life experiences ahead of him,” Marcus said. “He was a wonderful kid — goofy, full of life — just starting to navigate teenagedom.

Teenagedom meant girls. “He really wanted a girlfriend,” said his mother.

Uncle Marcus had noted this interest and was eager to help: “I was going to be his wing man, I swear to God.”

A Grade 10 student at Spectrum Community School, Gabriel had already planned his attire for his graduation day. He would “wheel” across the floor in a tuxedo like James Bond, his debonair 007 spy hero.

His body will arrive back in Victoria today following an autopsy.

“We will cremate him in a tuxedo because he wanted to look like James Bond for his graduation, so we’re sending him to heaven that way,” his mother said.

The family is having a private gathering this week and a public celebration of life on Aug. 11 at Pearkes arena in Saanich. “He mattered to so many people.”

Gabriel leaves behind his mother, Carrie, and father Chris Cooney, sister Ava, 13, two uncles, three grandmothers, a grandfather, his beloved cats Oscar and Beatrice, and a big community of friends and supporters.