. » "school there, as well as in Ontario and: British:

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Following i is the eulogy that will

be read Feb. 19 at Knox United

Church in honour of Vesta Doug-

las. It was | prepared, under Vesta’s

Hazel Holtom. °

Vesta Aileen Sampson Douglas: was born Sep- .
7 tember 10, 1910 at Glenboro, Manitoba to a fam-.
ily of.six girls and one boy — fortunately for him,
he was the eldest.
- As well as’ many, many dear friends, Vesta -
leaves her sisters Vivian and Lorene, her sister-

in-law Mary Sampson, whom she considered | a
sister, and several nieces and nephews.
. She was ‘educated in Manitoba and taught

Columbia, for approximately 40 years at many

different levels — rural schools, primary grades, —
special classes, high school, college and ending

her illustrious career as a principal.
‘Vesta was. “truly dedicated to‘ her profession
— she had one hobby and ‘that was our youth.

Vesta. married her childhood love, Norval

one Douglas i in 1939, and id enjoyed 48 years: with him.

’ or so that he knew her, she

‘6

, .
They travelled extensively.
They took a world tour and: later visited each

_ continent separately. These memories kept Vesta

close to Doug after his death.
‘Vesta received many honours. She was Riv-

--erboat Queen for years, Terrace’s first citizen in

watchful eye, by her dear "friend

1981 and in 1987 was named Freeman of the City

of Terrace.

She was an honourary member or “two sorori-
ties and of the Terrace Pipes and Drums:-She was
an avid supporter of the Northwest’ Music Fes-
tival, Miss Terrace Pageant and attended Knox
United Church.

Vesta quietly’ supported many people and oF ;

ganizations — both physically and monetarily. °

At the time she asked to be anonymous but I. ;

feel her good should not go unremembered, “such

-as the furnace in the building of Knox United
Church, its choir gowns, lights in the entrance:

and parking lot, pew bibles, altar bible as well a as
many other things.

She supported the Shames Ski Hill Society and’

was’ thrilled. when ‘they named the baby-sitting
service “Vesta’s Nest”.

. She helped us get the CAT scan at the hospi-
tal, helped Terraceview get a computer and door’

_ guard system ~ the list goes on.

ment at:his 80th bithday! party in’ 2004.7"

. sense.of humour hadn’t lost their edge.

beautiful,’” said Mrs. McRae..

met Douglas.

_ work in the education system. -

school system here.

tactics.

CHARLIE MEEK didn’t t
know Vesta Douglas nearly
as long as some of her other °
friends, but in the 12 years

our,”

left a lasting impression. would be a queen.’
“It wasn’t just a-pleasure:

to know‘her, it was an hon-

Curlers honour her

said Meek, two days
after his friend’s passing.
“She had a wonderful
aura about her,” Meek said.
“If Terrace had royalty, she

He says Douglas’s fa-
mous generosity has left her

with “one hell of a legacy.”
“Wherever she went, her
. generosity followed her,”
continued Meek. Meek and
Douglas first met at the Le-
gion, where the former has’.
been a past president. Doug-
las would come in for steak
nights. '
It wasn ’tuntil the last two .~
_years’— when Douglas was
in hospital and later at Ter-

_and in one of her notes to me, she wrote —

Bill McRae remembers

A Freeman ‘and a friend

BILL AND Helene McRae will never forget
“one of the last times they had the. pleasure
of seeing their friend, Vesta Douglas at the
"| Swearing in of city council late last year.
As her body was failing her, her mind and

“When we saw her, I said, ‘You look very,
“She said, °
, "Have you checked your eyes lately?”
That was the kind of wit Bill McRae had,
become used to in the 50- -plus years since he

» _ When they first met, Douglas lived on the .
‘. corner of Park Ave. and. Kenney St. and the
McRaes were neighbours. Then, McRae got
“to know his neighbour through her Jong time

‘ “She was always good with the kids,” said’
_. McRae who had five children go through the .,

__» The two would then brush shoulders i ina
= mumber of city initiatives where they were
- both front and: centre. McRae remembers
_ with a smile Douglas’s shrewd negotiating

. After unsuccessful attempts to begin an
FREEMEN Bill McRae ‘and Nesta: pougies ‘share amo <aitenia ‘project a! feasibility study ‘was done
"1° “aad thembers ‘ofthe business commutiity, a

Including McRae, forged ahead't but finding

took care of her beautifully,”

. Meek said, adding that the
Terrace Hospice Society did
an equally unbelievable job

_in her last days. Meek, who
spent a lot of. time with her
in those final days, says his _
‘dear friend’ was prepared.
and willing to go.

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - A5
, Penne ieee

. She and Doug put some worthy people through
university. Vesta worked very hard, in her last
years, spending their money as their philosophy
was “there are no pockets on caskets”.

Vesta considered dying a ‘celebration of life
“Now
for the mysterious: beyond: God is Love. All is

” well. Shalom.”

' =She leaves a message of hope and encourage-
ment in Longfellow’ s quote, “Never grow weary »

‘in well-doing.”

And RL. Stevenson i in 1894 expresses Vesta’ S.

philosophy:

“Under the wide and starry sky

Dig the grave and let me die |

Glad did’I live and gladly I die.”

When Vesta phoned and asked if I would help

* with her estate, if it was needed, I was almost

overcome with emotion as [ always thought she

would never leave us and, of course, I’m right as

she will always be with us in so many ways... °
When I said I would give this little talk; she

“said “Make it no more than 10 minutes” and, be-_.
" lieve me, ‘she looked this over and gave the okay. .

- This was in 1996 but I know she is listening
and I wouldn’t dare change a thing. -
, Again, from Vesta, Shalom.

G

-a leader was proving difficult. So: Douglas
-. played McRae against Walter Yeo master-

- project and eventually both agreed to be co-
chairs. —

- Douglas also supported the building of
the vocational school that is now Northwest
Community College and gave generously to
ward the purchase of the first CT scanner.” —

“She supported everything,” said McRae,

‘city’ s third Freeman. “During her life, with
her’ activities she was able to touch every-
body.
“But she was fairly modest — she didn’t go.
_ around looking for glory,” added McRae. °
In‘her later years, Douglas, was, part of .
a.group that included the McRaes, Casey »
Braam and Aileen Frank that would social: .
» ize and dine out.

up from her Twin. River apartment, tucking
~ her in and out of the car —- McRae’ said he
would put a piece of carpet down by the door.
.so she wouldn’t fall. When they returned,
they would watch her ascend the s stairs, on
‘her trademiark high heels!°°77"""
“Tt was a privilege knowing her. a person *
-with such g0,” said McRae.

to the e Legion and put Doug-
las’s name on the board of
members who have passed
on. The next morning, the _
‘flag’ at the Legion was low-
ered at half mast.
. Meek is making arrange-
ments for a public memorial -
. tribute i in Vesta’s honour. -

“Her: passing was very’ It will be held at the REM *
peaceful,” said Meek, who Lee Theatre’ Sunday; March
was on his way to be with 5 at 2 p.m.

. Call Charlie Meek at -

fully, he recalls, touting each to chair the: .

who was joined. by Douglas i in 1987 as the ©

The McRaes would, often pick Douglas

4

_The Mail Bag

~What of the Spirit Tree?»

Dear Sir:
It is fascinating to see how quickly Nechako North-

~ coast Construction is cutting the top off the sand mountain
_ atthe west end of Terrace.

I am referring to the. hill on the north side of the high-

', way, just before Fisherman’s Park. I remember when I
was younger walking down the highway alongside that «

‘hill. ‘There was something. about the forest.that covered:
it and that came all the way down to the road. Something
of a spiritual nature, spooky almost.

Part of the feeling was caused by the denseness of the —

~ most of them as ravens or small animals or the like. But it

was still spooky, especially i in the evening.

‘T now know that hill is a very important heritage spot _

for the people of Kitsumkalum called Ksii maxskwhl gan

tsim aws. The mountain is especially important | for the we

Killerwhale family of chief Lagaax. 0
” A spirit being claimed that hill, It is not for me to tell

all the details of this part of the Killerwhale’s heritage. but

I am permitted to say that the Spirit being was: the Spirit |

. Tree from Kitsumkalum Lake.

The Spirit Tree was responsible for creating parts of

. the landscape and geography in the Kitsumkalum Valley,

and the sand bars in the Skeena. It travelled most easily in
water and was quick to take offence if any creature made

- fun of it.

When it was mocked, ithe tree. reacted by drowning
its victims and burying‘them. So many. were buried at:
the mouth of the Kalum River that a huge sand mountain

grew* Ksii Maxga gan da Ts’im aws' (translated as “the —- ve
trees are standing « out of the mountain”) or more simply woe

: Maxs..

Skeena on‘occasion.

‘Now when I walk past the mountain, Iam n reminded of.

that piece of local heritage. ‘The sand and gravel from the

mountain is being spread out on highways.:I wonder what moyen

is happening t to the spirit powers under it?

Jim McDonald, Tera BE. vs

It’s still about value

Dear Sirs. ee
"In “It’s about adding value” recent letter to the editor , ere
: Roger Harris responds to an earlier letter of mine. Iam nO Poy

-sure’he read my letter correctly...

Ast recall it all started with Roger’ s: support for log - Qh .
‘exports in one of his columns. He is correct that itis about. > ~ .
, adding value-to the. logs, but you: ‘can’t add value’ locally o

-to an exported log.

If Roger is suggesting that it doesn’t imatter whiere, the oe ols
- ‘value is added or where the jobs are created, then'I would:

take issue with him on that as well. I think it does matter
‘to most ‘people who live in this area.

~ Helmut Giesbrecht, Terrace, B. c.

EMT DES yore ay aM oe

vctr Way to: go, Nathan: aon |

“age res ai tre wer rte D0 ;

Dear Sir:

- My congratulations go out to Nathan Cullen and € es-
pecially to his hard working team of volunteers on,his = *
re-election to the House of Commons as the Member of 8
Parliament for Skeena - Bulkley Valley. * : eee.
As I have promised during the election I will continue ve ee
building my relationship with Nathan Cullen and discuss- :

ing with him the issues of importance to our ‘communi-:
ties. .
Thanks again for a wonderful | experience.

Rr

Welcome aboriginal art

, Dear Sir: ot
I am writing to express my appreciation to see the it in- cetet

..The mountain is the place’ Of ¢ a spirit, power: that ‘the ee id
‘ Tsimshian held in awe and respect. They ‘did not disturb °« . .>
those powers. Even: though: the Spirit Tree has retumed:

to Kalum Lake, and is not’ seen often, it does come to the, or

ma on

= Phil Brienesse, a . :
Green Party Candidate - Skeena: Bulkley Valley, a
' om "Smithers, B.C. es a

CURLERS bowed their- heads to: honour, Vesta ’ Douglas
“ with a moment of silence at the 50th Valentine’s Bonspiel
— opening ceremony last weekend.

Memories of Douglas — one of the founders of the Ter-
race Ladies Curling Club — continued when.Knox United ~
»Church assistant pastor Shirley Lindsay said a few words
- and toasted her atthe bonspiel’s banquet.

“And [when] we’re toasting Vesta, it won’t be pop, she -
wouldn’t approve of that,” says Cindy Brown, Valentine’s
Bonspiel chairperson, adding the club won’t be the same
without Douglas. “We're going to miss her so much.”

“Jan MacKinnon, another co-founder of the curling club,
remembers her friend fondly.

; “She attended every banquet for all these years, you
_ know, I used to pick her ‘up to take her,” she says.

“She always did the grace. That was her job.”

Curling club ptesident Lynn Gascon, who knew Douglas
for.six years, credited her for having a sense of humour no
matter what the situation. .

“She always had so much wit about her. She never forgot

_ her history,” says Gascon. Douglas’ legacy as an avid curl-
ing fan will continue at the club.
‘The Vesta Douglas Award, which was ‘awarded for the —

her when he got a phone.call_
telling him she had. passed |
away. He immediately went

‘raceview Lodge — that their ~
relationship became closer.
“The staff at Terraceview

digenous First Nation Haisla artist James Grant’s wonder---_ a
ful Spirit Bear work as shown in a recent issue.of: The noe
‘Terrace. Standard’s sister. publication, The Weekend Ad- Oy
 -yertiser.” fe
«Let's encourage and ‘support local First Nation ‘art:
ists, who are born into their clans, who, are’ raised in: their” a
. culture to demonstrate the unique. creativity, “of. their First —
- Nations designs. These are:designs which are’ ‘passed‘on.
‘from their ancestors by blood and presented to.us today
on the territories we share with our aboriginal brothers ,
_and sisters. ° "| ot
We have so very many. talented aboriginal-born artists 7
‘in this region. We must provide for them a welcoming and Dobe
respectful arena in which to present their'art. Sd
os - Marianne Brorup Weston; ae
_ Terrace; B. C. we Teak

‘635-6403 in the evenings
© for details. . oe

yu

Keep your r pets. safe

- Dear Sir: .
I suggest that anyone . with pets that live n near - Kalu &

Lake Drive keep their pets close to home. oo

- Saturday; Jan: 28 my household had a rude.  ayakening ~

‘first time in 2005, goes to the top- two junior curlers who | of a gunshot fired outside.
show the best sportsmanship and most improvement in the Thirty seconds later my sons 's cat Perby € came running
junior curler program for youth aged eight to 16. frantically. into the house. . Moy

He had been shot in. the face with a ‘freann, He was:
bleeding profusely ; all over the house as well as. heaving. .
Our cat was in severe shock: §.- |
We managed to get the cat to the vet and then i in disbe- _
” lief that someone would do this to my son’s pet, we went a
‘straight to the police to report this gruesome incident.
~ Jt was more:than obvious who had shot our cat.: ‘The
blood trail in our yard to the culprit’ S speaks for itself. ©
. Sadly enough —-we were told that there was absolutely

nothing | that could be done about it.

MAYOR: Jack Talstra and his wife Hilda (eft) greet Vesta Douglas at the reception.
following the swearing in ceremony. of Terrace’s city council late last year. ‘He’s .
wearing the Chain of Office she commissioned, ' SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN PHOTO

‘MLA sends regards |
“As the MLA for Skeena, I would like to offer my ~
heartfelt condolences to the family of Vesta Douglas. -
Mrs. Douglas was an exceptional person, whose
generosity stands out as a beacon to us all. I didn’t
' know Mrs. Douglas well, but v we have all been touched
by her kindness.
It was a great pleasure to meet her this past Decem- -
ber and I was proud to tell the Legislative Assembly of
B.C. about her contributions to our community in my
Member’s Statement this past October. Mrs. Douglas .
gave very generously to so many organizations here
in Terrace, and was very modest about-her contribu-
tions. She supported many projects and organizations,
‘not out of a desire for recognition, but out of altruism. *
‘Not only has our community. been enriched by her
' philanthropic acts, but she has provided a legacy of
' which her family can be proud.

ur family, along with the. community, was saddened this week. to learn of
the passing of a very dear lady, Vesta Douglas.
Vesta was a fixture in my life since the time I arrived i in Terrace asa.
7 small boy. She was my teacher in Grade 4 in 1955 at the old Riverside
” Elementary. School and never failed to instill a measure of confidence and
goodwill in all of her students.

I can stil! remember her telling each of us that we could achieve and become whatever.
we wanted to be as long as we worked hard and set our minds to it, and after listening to her,
none of us doubted that we could indeed be successful in this world. .

_ She gave everyone a sense of self worth and never had an unkind word about anyone.

She was appointed a Freeman of the City of Terrace (she insisted on the word “Freeman’’)
because of.all her selfless dedication to community groups, and particularly young people,

- throughout the years she lived here.- — ;

She donated gladly and generously. most of her.wealth to worthy causes and needy i in-
dividuals, and commissioned the Chain of Office worn by the Mayor on official functions,
when she noticed, “the Mayor didn’t have one, and that certainly wouldn’t do.”

I would like the police to know that I hope they a are en :
' joying their donuts at Tim Hortons. And as for the culprit, :
‘I don’t know how he can stand himself. -

Shelly a and Tanner Morberg, :
: Terrace, B.C.

“About the Mail Bag

The Terrace Standard welcomes letters. Our. address os =

Sincerely, Vesta lived a full and honourable life. is 3210 Clinton St., Terrace, B.C. V8G: 5R2.' You. can :
Robin Austin fax us at- 250-638-8432 or e-mail us at newsroom@ - mo
MLA, Skeena _ She and her never failing sense of humour will be greatly missed. terracestandard.com. No attachments, please. Name,

Mayor Jack Tabetra

address - and Phone. number. required for verification... .. :