In Loving Memory of David Stuart Smith

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the peaceful passing of David Stuart Smith on September 16th, 2025, following a long and courageous battle with kidney failure. Though David passed away in hospital, far from his children and grandchildren, he was surrounded in spirit by the love, thoughts, and prayers of all who knew him.

David lived a life defined by strength, kindness, and quiet perseverance. Despite facing ongoing health challenges, he met each one with dignity, resilience, and an unwavering sense of humour. His storytelling was one of his greatest gifts—especially when sharing memories and moments involving his children and their families.

David will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered by his children, Kassandra Scott and Riley Smith, their spouses Tyler and Brianna, and his cherished granddaughters: Isabel, Juliet, Lilian, and Violet. He is also survived by his stepmother, Beverley Smith.

David’s beloved father, Lynn Smith, passed away just 16 days later, on October 2nd, 2025. May they find eternal peace together on their next great adventure. David is also predeceased by his loving mother, Sharon Werry, and his older brother, Michael Smith.

He will be remembered for his generous spirit, gentle heart, and the thoughtful wisdom he offered so freely. His presence enriched the lives of all who knew him.

The family extends their heartfelt thanks to the medical teams and caregivers at Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, BC, for their years of exceptional care and compassion. In lieu of flowers, donations in David’s memory may be made to the Victoria Hospitals Foundation in support of the Renal Unit.

A celebration of life will be held in Ontario at a later date, to be announced.

Though distance separated us in his final days, David’s love and light remain forever close in our hearts.

“Elbows up & fight every day.”

This season of Riley’s hockey is dedicated to Smitty.

Rest in peace, Dad. The pain is gone. May your spirit always surround us with love.

Topping, Brandon, born May 23, 1982, passed away August 20^th, 2025.  Brandon was predeceased by his mother Dawn, Auntie Cheryl and his grandfather – Oril.  He leaves behind his Grandmother Lu, his Aunties Cindy (Rick), Nancy and Uncle Brian (Wendy) and cousins Emily & Ignatious.  His son Benjamin (mother Angelique) and another son Hunter.

His struggles are over – his battles now rest.  RIP.

“The risk of love is loss, and the price of loss is grief – But the pain of grief is only a shadow when compared with the pain of never risking love.”

Elsie Annette Person, 89, of Pender Island, BC, passed away peacefully in the early morning hours of August 10, 2025, with her daughters by her side.

Elsie was born on March 3, 1936, in Tisdale, Saskatchewan, to Edwin and Almina Flaata, the children of Norwegian immigrants. She grew up on the family farm alongside her seven siblings, where life was filled with both hard work and laughter. She often told stories of farm adventures, caring for the horses, and the day a cow named Elsie arrived—prompting her father to give her the nickname “Bucky.” This story, one of her favorites, always sparked smiles and laughter whenever she shared it.

As a young woman, Elsie moved with some of her sisters to Jasper, Alberta, where she worked as a telephone operator and later at the local hospital. Though she once dreamed of becoming a nurse, her adventurous spirit led her to Kamloops, BC, with her sister Marion. It was in Kamloops that she met Ronald Person. They married in 1960 and welcomed two daughters, Kelly Jane in 1961 and Barbara Louise in 1968.

Kamloops became Elsie’s long-time home, where family life was rich with camping trips, fishing excursions, and gatherings with the Flaata sibling and their families. These reunions were always filled with teasing, storytelling, and the bubbling laughter she so loved.

Elsie dedicated 25 years of her life to working at the Ponderosa Lodge in Kamloops. In her role, she embodied the caring spirit she had dreamed of as a young woman, supporting patients and coworkers with compassion and cheer. Her dedication and warmth left a lasting impression on all who knew her there.

Elsie was a proud grandmother to six grandchildren—Matthew, Brent, & Stefani (children of Kelly & Mark), and Ayana, Josh, and Andrew (children of Barbie & Scot)—and later became a great-grandmother to three boys: Efrayim (son of Brent & Nicole), and twins Søren and Fynn (sons of Stefani & Chris).

In her later years, Elsie lived on Pender Island in a suite at Kelly and Mark’s home. She delighted in being close to family, enjoying Saturday outings with her son-in-law Mark, town trips with Kelly, catching up on her grandchildren’s work stories, and tapping her toes to the music of her great-grandchildren.

In 2024, Elsie was diagnosed with breast cancer. Despite surgery and treatment, the cancer returned in a rare and aggressive form. Surrounded by her loved ones, she faced this journey with courage and grace, never wanting to be a burden, but accepting the care that her family readily offered. She passed peacefully on August 10, embraced in love and prayer.

Elsie will be remembered for her warmth, her laughter, and the joy she found in family across three generations. She will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved her.

There are souls who do not walk the well-paved roads of life. Wandering the edges, searching for something the rest of us cannot name. Mike was one of those souls.

Born under a late August sky, he often looked to the stars for meaning. The moon and planets were his compass, and he trusted their constant cycles more than the fickle glitter and glory of the masses. In his youth, he crossed continents with little more than a backpack and a sense of curiosity. He was humbled by the raw beauty of nature and the teachings of those who spoke beyond words. The gentle hum of the forest, the rhythmic pull of the Pacific, and the Oldies blaring from a car radio along the open highway.

Relationships with him were often difficult, and many of us were left with distances we could not bridge. And yet there were moments of joy. Memories of when his sharp laughter broke through, his mischievous grin and blue eyes twinkling with conspiratorial glee. Moments when conversations felt like being graced by something rare and wonderful.

Yet the gift of feeling deeply comes with a cost. The same vulnerability that made him spiritual also left him exposed to loneliness, depression, and the solace of the bottle. Over time, the world’s noise became unbearable, and solitude became both his sanctuary and his prison. A hermit in a modern age, living by his own terms until the very end. Perhaps The Beach Boys said it best: “I guess I just wasn’t made for these times.”

May he find what he was always seeking. May the stars guide him home.

Elizabeth Sweatman died peacefully in hospital in Victoria B.C. on August 8, 2025.

She is survived and will be greatly missed by her daughter Mikale Fenton, Mikale’s husband Eric Weber, and their young son August.

Elizabeth (Liz or Lizzy) will be mourned by her many loving friends, and by her large family: brothers Alan, Wynn (and Teddi), Paul (and Catherine Moss), Scott (Linda Ostry), and her sister Margaret (Glenn Buhr). Her nieces and nephews remember her as empathetic, very funny and independent-minded, “the adult I could talk to.” She was a sensitive yet skeptical individual, a complicated woman of beauty and wit.

As a young woman, in the 1970s, Liz worked in Toronto for a while, then traveled, skiing the Swiss Alps, exploring the islands of Greece, and relaxing on the beaches of Israel. She was brave and a bit reckless in her younger days, a fast skier, a wonderful and very quick cook, and she could riff off every skit from Saturday Night Live.

Liz grew up in Winnipeg and earned a Master of City Planning from the University of Manitoba, focusing on community health development in rural Manitoba. City planning suited her intellect. She worked with Winnipeg’s CentreVenture, an organization that encouraged collaboration between the city and businesses, aimed at developing the downtown core; it was a suitable place for someone with her force of idealism and a canny understanding of collective efforts, and where she demonstrated qualities of patient diplomacy that sometimes surprised her siblings.

Community and healthcare were constants in her varied professional life. She was on the Board of Directors of the Misericordia Health Centre, 2009 to 2010, and was a manager of patient safety, quality and risk at Health Sciences Centre.

Liz was a dedicated caregiver to her parents, Alan and Lorraine Sweatman, and it wasn’t until they had died, in 2012 and 2014 respectively, that she allowed herself to fulfill a dream of living in B.C. She moved to Comox in 2014, where she entered what Mikale jokingly called her “Elizabethan” era, and where she was in close contact with her beloved friends Anne Gardner and Laurie Stovel.

As a family of two, Liz and Mikale shared a deep and sometimes complicated bond. In winter, Mikale fondly recalls curling up on her mum’s bed with stacks of newspapers and old New Yorkers, or wandering Winnipeg’s Exchange District together to browse antique shops and enjoy dim sum. Liz passed on her passion for politics, public art, and urbanism, and instilled in Mikale a love of skiing, sailing, laughing babies, and a great dance party.

Lizzy could be swept away by natural beauty. She loved the Lake of the Woods, loved to sit outside into the small hours, alone or in the company of family and friends, and marvel at the sky. She had a great gift for living, matched by a countervailing awareness of human frailty and her acute distaste for what she felt was false. She was enormously intelligent and would not wish to hear that from anybody.

A celebration of Elizabeth’s life will be held at a later date. Mikale and her family extend their heartfelt gratitude to the many friends and relatives – especially Eileen Weber – who offered support during the final years and weeks of Elizabeth’s life. While in hospital, Liz found great comfort in the materials and resources provided by the Greater Victoria Public Library. In lieu of flowers, those wishing to honour her are invited to donate to their local public library, in recognition of Liz and Mikale’s belief that libraries are the heart of an informed, connected, and equitable democratic society.