BY KEITH LACEY
Aidan Lumley would have celebrated his 21st birthday today.
Instead of a celebration, his mother and friends will gather in Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto this evening for a candlelight vigil to remember and honour the talented and popular young man.
Lumley was murdered outside a downtown Montreal nightclub in the early morning hours of Nov. 27. No arrests have been made as Montreal police continue to try and track down those responsible for his death.
His mother, Elaine Lumley, said she had to do something special for her son on his birthday.
?I thought a candlelight vigil would be an appropriate thing because Aidan was a very peaceful and thoughtful young man,? she said.
She will be making appearances today on CBC Newsworld and Canada AM to speak out about gun violence, especially among young people.
?I want to become active in this cause,? she said.
Lumley, who lives in Toronto, raised her son in Sudbury until he was six before moving south. He spent many summers here with family.
Aidan was buried beside his grandfather, Rev. Robert Lumley, a United Church minister in Sudbury for several decades, at the Anglican Cemetery on Regent St.
Lumley said the lead detective in her son?s murder case assured her police are pursuing numerous solid leads in the case.
?They?re still following some good leads and they remain hopeful they will catch who was responsible for this,? she said. ?Investigations like this can
be a fairly slow process...I maintain a lot of faith in the police and I know they?re doing everything they can.?
Aidan was in Montreal to celebrate completion of first-semester exams from his studies at Trent University in Peterborough.
Lumley, who spent Christmas in Sudbury with her mother and sisters, said the amount of support from her old friends and acquaintances was
overwhelming.
?I always loved Sudbury,? said the woman, who moved to Toronto to pursue a career in theatre.
?Aidan was a lot like his grandpa, my dad,? she said. ?He just loved everyone and everyone loved him. My father was a minister and believed everyone had good qualities and Aidan was the same.?
A discussion with her seven-year-old nephew over the holidays will always have a special place in her heart, she said.
?I asked my nephew what he thought Aidan might be doing up in heaven and he said he?s probably playing the guitar because he had a rock star personality,? she said.
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