Condolences
Today, I lost a precious and treasured friend, Janine Manywounds. She was a regular part of St. Thomas Wesley United Church in Saskatoon. A month ago she stopped coming to our gatherings. We were looking for her in her usual hangouts. We knew she desperately wanted to go home to see her family in the Calgary area and thought maybe she was visiting there. It wasn't until today we learned that she had passed into the Spirit world. An elderly friend commented once on the occasion of her brother's death; "My heart is full of sorrow." Today that is how I feel.
Janine was so wise. She knew the Sarcee teachings from the Manywounds and the Cree teachings from the Tootoosis side. I believe that she was destined to be an elder and a knowledge keeper. At the same time, we were very aware of her health issues and worried with her about her health. She was trying to be strong and live healthy. She loved her children with a passion, spoke of them with great pride and worried about them constantly.
I have many memories of Janine. Recently she set out to test her endurance by jogging from her house to downtown. She proved to herself that she could still jog several kilometres. She was in good shape because she walked everywhere. Also, one Sunday this past Spring, she arrived at the church on a bike. She rode that bike like a sixteen year old. We laughed about that. How I wish I had taken a video of her that day.
Her funeral was held last month in her First Nation and with her family. We will do something appropriate at St. Thomas Wesley in the near future.
I hope she knew how much she was loved and treasured. My deepest sympathy to her children, grandchildren and other family.
Helen Smith-McIntyre
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