Deborah Louise Kennard

Deborah was born in Montreal, where she lived and worked most of her life. She is pre-deceased by her parents, L. June (Clemes) and Cedric G. H. Kennard, both in 2008 and several beloved family dogs: Belle, Rex, Mac, Zoe, Clifford, and Chester. She leaves on this mortal coil, her siblings, Christopher A. (Kit), Katherine L. and Margaret J. (Peggy) Kennard, "adopted" sister and brother-in-law, Pamela Cowan and Bob White, her middle namesake, Arianna Deborah Rehak and sister Mishka Rehak, and an extended family in Canada, USA, UK, Chile and Argentina and a huge network of friends.

The family thanks Dr. Jim Gruber, as physician and friend for over 40 years, for his unwavering dedication; Dr. Ash Gursahaney and the fabulous staff at MGH ICU and Dr. Debbie Danoff who saved Deborah's life over 40 years ago.

Deborah was born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), expected to have a life expectancy no more than 3 years. Deborah was educated at the McKay Centre, Dawson College and McGill University, leaving her studies behind with high academic marks as her health and life circumstances made continuing her education difficult.

Despite, those physical challenges, she developed both a kind and gentle spirit and a fiercely determined drive to live her life to the fullest, attributed, in part, by her Viking warrior maiden spirit (evidenced by DNA testing) and more completely, by her servant leadership through an abiding Christian faith.

The Independent Living Community in Canada knew her as a remarkable Canadian woman who distinguished her life with her passion as an activist and spokesperson promoting the rights of persons with disabilities.

Fluently bilingual, she served on several Boards of Directors, the most recent of which were as Co-founding Chair and President and of Vie autonome - Montreal, a member of the Board of Directors for Independent Living Canada, co-founder and board member of Coop ASSIST and active in several other advocacy groups. She was honoured with the CAILC Consumer of Excellence Award for 2002 for her pioneering leadership establishing the Montreal Metropolitan Independent Living Resource Centre.

Among the many tributes received to date:

"You touched and influenced more people with the power of your thumb and index finger than most of us will be able to do with our whole bodies in our lifetime....."

"It breaks my heart to see my colleagues (in the people with disabilities community) fall in combat without ever having had the assistance necessary to live a good life".

"Deborah had a zest for life and an appreciation for the limitations of others. Those who knew her, had the privilege of experiencing her intelligence, her grace and her sense of humor in difficult circumstances".

A private cremation service will be held December 23, followed in the Spring of 2020 by a Celebration of Life event with details to follow by email, FaceBook and the Dignity Memorial web site.

For tributes and guest book please visit: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/montreal-qc/deborah-kennard-8967443

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Deborah Kennard Legacy Fund at GO FUND ME:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/deborah-kennard-legacy-fund?

All donations will be held in trust and will be disbursed through an appropriate financial vehicle to be set up in Deborah's name with the objective of furthering her causes and legacy.

It is with great sadness that we announce that we have lost a pioneer. Deborah Kennard passed away Monday the 16th in the evening at the Montreal General Hospital.

Deborah was one of the first people to support Coop ASSIST. She never missed an opportunity to talk to different organizations about our vision. She was one of our greatest spokespersons. She was open to the world and knew that we could make progress here in Quebec as it was done a long time ago in other places. She strongly believed that all people with disabilities must have choice and control over how they live. She has spent most of her life defending our rights and claiming our rightful place in society.

She has spent years in hospitals, because there is no alternative to live in the community for people with severe disabilities. She fought hard to live in her own apartment in a continuous assistance resource in the Montreal area. Despite the lack of personalized assistance in this establishment, she was very involved in the Quebec and Canadian community.

She was a sociable woman of heart with a big smile, with enormous resilience and full of compassion and empathy. She always saw the bright side, her knowledge of the issues, and the wisdom of her words constantly guided our decision-making. She was not afraid of obstacles and challenges. She believed that personal assistance had the potential to transform her life and that of her peers.

She loved good wine in good company, so let's bet she won't need anyone to raise a glass.

We will miss her very much.

Rest In Power Deb

Une de nos co-fondatrice n'est plus

C'est avec beaucoup de peine qu'on vous annonce que nous avons perdu une pionnière. Deborah Kennard est décédé lundi en soirée à l'Hôpital Général de Montréal.

Deborah est une des premières personnes qui a appuyé la démarche de Coop ASSIST. Elle ne perdait aucune occasion pour parler de notre vision à différentes organisations. C'était une de nos plus grandes porte-parole. Elle était ouverte sur le monde et savait qu'on pouvait faire du progrès ici au Québec comme ça s'est fait il y a longtemps dans d'autres endroits.

Elle croyait profondément que toutes les personnes handicapées doivent avoir le choix et le contrôle sur comment elles vivent. Elle à passé presque toute sa vie à défendre nos drois et à réclamer notre juste place dans la société.

Elle a passé des années dans des hôpitaux, car il n'y a pas d'alternative pour vivre dans la communauté pour les personnes avec un handicap sévère. Elle s'est battue d'arrache-pied pour vivre dans son propre appartement dans une ressource à assistance continue de la région de Montréal. Malgré le manque d'assistance personnalisée dans cet établissement, elle était beaucoup impliquée dans le milieu associatif québécois et canadien.

Elle était une femme de coeur sociable avec un grand sourire, doté d'une résilience énorme et pleine de compassion et d'empathie. Elle voyait toujours le bon côté des choses, sa connaissance des dossiers, et la sagesse de ses propos orientait constamment nos prises de décision. Les obstacles et les défis ne lui faisaient pas peur. Elle croyait que l'assistance personnelle avait le potentiel de transformer sa vie et celles de ses pairs.

Elle adorait le bon vin en bonne compagnie, gageons qu'elle n'aura besoin de personne pour lever son verre en notre santé.

Elle va nous manquer beaucoup.

Rest ln Power Deb