Just four years after he arrived in the territory, Yukoners must bid farewell to a spark that helped light up the territorial music scene.

Aylie Sparkes (Peter Thiessan) died last Sunday after battling cancer.

'He was just kind of a bright light,' musician Bob Hamilton said in an interview Thursday.

Hamilton also operates a studio.

That was a sentiment echoed by others who spoke of Sparkes' life, including his partner, Tanya Groundwater.

'He was so full of love and passion for life,' she said this morning.

In his obituary, his family included a quote by the 38-year-old: 'I'm not scared to try for fear that I'll fall, so much life to live before I die.'

While many in the territory knew Sparkes for his music, Groundwater said she and others close to him remember a man who never compromised who he was.

'He never changed himself for anyone else,' she said.

For the couple, the past 2 1/2 years have been a beautiful journey with many highs and those bittersweet moments that came with dealing with his cancer, she said.

Those who saw Sparkes perform on stage may have noticed a sort-of bounce he had while he played. That bounce was something which also came through when he danced, Groundwater remembered.

'I just loved dancing with him,' she said. 'He'd be bouncing beside me.'

That playfulness and curiosity also came through with the sparkle in his eyes, she said.

It was something many remember him bringing onto the stage.

'We didn't know what was going to happen song to song,' Paul Stephens said this morning, adding Sparkes would always do something new when they played together.

Stephens was the bass player in a trio which included Sparkes on guitar. They spent the better part of two years playing regularly at the Bonanza Inn.

'It was definitely a very interesting musical experience,' Neil Byblow, who had played with Sparkes a couple of times, said in an interview earlier this week.

Sparkes' style was so unique it's difficult to describe, Byblow said.

Both Stephens and Byblow noted the fun they had when they played with the guitar player.

While Sparkes had that playful personality, Groundwater also pointed to another side of Sparkes where he felt very deeply. That came through in his music, she said.

The Music Yukon website notes his Beautiful and Deranged CD released in 2003 explores themes like religion, love, life purpose and loss, 'all sustained by an under-riding strength of spirit to succeed through adversity.'

He felt very deeply about his children daughter Teka Rae Thiessan, now 16, and son Oliver Bean, now 11.

When he moved up to the Yukon nearly four years ago, Groundwater said, he realized he would have to leave his children in B.C.'s Kooteneys.

'They were in a good place,' she said.

Anytime kids were mentioned in a conversation after he moved to the territory, it would bring him close to tears, she said.

Sparkes moved to the Yukon from the Kooteneys because he couldn't get the playing time he needed there to persue the serious music career he was looking for.

Both his children have been to the territory to visit their father, with Rae moving up last November.

Groundwater noted the strength Sparkes showed during a recent 10-day visit from Bean.

Rae and Groundwater were by his side when he died.

Toward the end of his life, Sparkes and Groundwater talked of the times they had shared in the 2 1/2 years they spent together.

One of those memories was of the first time they met. While she had seen him play before, it wasn't until she ran into a friend that she was introduced. Her friend was talking to Sparkes at the time as well.

It was as if they had known each other from a long time ago, she said.

'Both of us never forgot that,' Groundwater commented.

Another moment they would not forget was when they were living with Pete and Mary Beattie on Shallow Bay, off Lake Laberge.

The couple was standing near the bay, while the sun was setting, and they saw two sandhill cranes. Soon, the Beatties' sled dogs starting howling and were joined in by other sled dogs in the area. Coyotes eventually added their voices to the chorus.

'It was just this symphony around us,' Groundwater said.

Sparkes said he wished he'd had a recorder with him to capture the moment.

Family and friends will celebrate Sparkes' life on Sunday, which would have marked the fourth anniversary of his Yukon arrival.

'It's a huge, loaded day,' Groundwater said.

She noted the month of May also marked Sparkes' birthday. He would have been 39 on May 25. A number of other friends also have birthdays in May, she said.

The celebration will begin at 2 p.m. at the Beatties' property off the Shallow Bay Road. It is the first driveway on the left after one turns off the North Klondike Highway.

True to his love of life, Sparkes requested there be music, singing and smiles at the celebration. He also asked that it be a potluck dinner and that guests arrive festively dressed.