BIOGRAPHY

Faye Cyr was born on October 26th, 1951 in Vancouver, B.C. The eldest of four girls, with an older brother, she grew up in the suburbs of Vancouver, graduating from Port Moody High School in 1969. In 1972, she married high school sweetheart, Don Cyr and completed the Registered Nurse’s program at BCIT.

A year later, they moved to Fanny Bay, a remote logging camp near Campbell River, B.C. to assist Don’s father in building 20 miles of logging road. The six-month assignment turned into five years. During this time sons, Hugh and Aaron were born.

When the family returned to the Fraser Valley in 1978, the fresh recollection of pristine mountains, frequent bear encounters, boating and floatplane near misses inspired her to write her first book, Where the Bears Play.

The family moved to Quesnel in 1981, where they lived for 20 years. Don drove logging truck and Faye worked in a Christian private school, later returning to work, as a nurse, in the hospital. Their loving home was based on their Christian faith. In the laid-back lifestyle of the Cariboo, they enjoyed hiking, fishing and camping together.

In her spare time, Faye continued to work on Where the Bears Play, but it wasn’t until after their sons had left home, and Don and Faye moved to Kelowna, that she finished the book. On Firestorm Friday, August 2003, the first copies of Where the Bears Play managed to arrive through smoke-filled air at the Kelowna Airport.

Her second book, Don’t Look Back – The Kluskus Trail, published spring of 2008, was inspired by three elderly First Nation women who often visited patients in the Quesnel hospital, and the government apprehensions of 72 children there, in 1997. A sequel is in the planning stages.

Faye retired from coronary care nursing at the Kelowna General Hospital, October 2007. She now works as a receptionist at the driving school where Don is a Class One Driving Instructor. They enjoy six grandchildren, sailing and the musical arts. Faye also loves studying the wind. She says, “It reminds me of God and his power.” Her motto: Wherever the wind blows, adventure and a story is sure to follow.