Obituary of Meghan Leasha Elie

On Tuesday, Sept 28, 2021 in her 46th year, our darling Meghan shed her mortal coil and is now free to fly.  Meghan is missed by her dad Michael Elie, her mom Paulette Elie (Longmore) and her brother Kaleb Elie, and of course Mrs. Beans.  She is also going to be missed by our extended family near and far, friends, aunts, uncles, cousins, work colleagues, school chums - all over the world - far too many as you all know to be able to list here.   You know who you are and we know that your hearts are also broken as are ours.  She was loved by all for her beautiful spirit, her work ethic and her compassion for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.  

Wasn’t she beautiful?  She was so smart…sometimes it was scary how smart and intuitive she was. Meeg was educated starting in the first French immersion program in London Ontario.  She formed bonds with many of her classmates that continue to this day.  She graduated Banting SS in the French program and went on to study at UWO London in the art history and religious history program. Later after travelling the world with Canada 3000 as an overseas flight attendant for several years, she then studied at Langara College in Vancouver BC getting her degree in Library Sciences.  Finding work in Vancouver where she could use that education she worked in the film industry using her archival skills. She loved her job at Moving Images, a non-profit company, providing schools, universities and business organization with all manner of short films, art and music for the purposes of education and social justice issues.  After a number of years she moved to her very favourite job at Creative BC, another non- profit business that dealt with the film industry providing location services, grants for young artists breaking into the film industry and acting as a judge for many films.  She loved being involved in the Canadian Film Festivals and met and worked with producers, directors and film makers.  Art, films and music were some of her passions. 

She was so well read, loved books, great literature, art, art history, and the French language.  She painted, she threw clay, she played ukulele (a girl after her Mom’s heart), She surrounded herself with the things she loved like sea turtles.  She was fierce about politics, and often attended the debates in Seattle with her friend Maggie.  She revelled in old movies, all genre of music, classic literature and chocolate! 

She loved to travel and was very fortunate to work for an airline as an overseas flight attendant for a number of years.  She walked Hadrians Wall numerous times, she rode bareback on the beaches of Fiji, she learned to drink scotch in Glasgow, Lisbon…and many more amazing places.  A trip to New York City with her Dad - so many shows and museums, concerts and food, Florence, Rome, Venice with Kaleb, where they tricked the Guardia Svizzera and snuck into a vault where they found and photographed rooms full of gold busts, artifacts worth so much money it could feed the world for 20 years.  Australia with Mom Sept 11, 2001, climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge, opera house, rain forest trips with an aboriginal guide, she ate live termites, boiled a billy can for tea and froze at night in the cold!  She had an amazing life and packed so much into her short years. 

Don’t grieve too long for our girl.  She would want you to sit and have a cuppa, read a great book, sit in the sun, or watch one of your favourite movies.  Do not go for a walk, because she would say “my feet are little bloody stumps”.   Enjoy her three main food groups, chocolate, red meat and cheese with Scotch and learn to drink like a sailor.  She would say “enjoy your life while you’re here”. Don’t waste a minute.  Remember the good times, reflect in the bad and learn from your mistakes.  Always use post-it-notes, you can never have enough!

“There are no faces truer than those that are so washed. How much better it is to weep at joy than to joy at weeping!”

William Shakespeare - Much Ado About Nothing

Meghan was very concerned about the missing and murdered indigenous women, so in her memory you might consider a donation to Native Women’s Association of Canada -www.nwac.ca or to Life*Spin - www.lifespin.org.