Susan Aliphat

To anyone who knew her, she "IS" still - a life force - a beloved wife, mother, friend, and teacher, and she always will be.

Susan had a gift of bringing people together - pulling people into her orbit, always introducing someone to just the right person they needed in their life. Her parties were filled with laughter, drinks and an almost magical never-ending supply of good food.

Susan embraced all of life with an unmatched passion - always there to bring you into her world - whether to look at an amazing flower, go for a hike, take a road trip, or get poutine, or ice cream with potato chips. She loved engaging people in the world of nature - from camping with Scouts or Duke of Edinburgh students to sharing her love of gardens, especially ones with peonies and irises. She loved: red wine, time at her brother's cottage surrounded by family, good scotch, Bonnie Raitt, maps, Toronto Bluejays, boxing, good food, and the beach. If someone mentioned a road trip, Susan would be in the car before the second word was uttered. She loved her elderly cat, Mina, whose obsession with seaweed was a daily source of joy. Susan had a talent for raising cats who lived exceptionally long lives, many reaching or close to 20 years.

Always a trickster at heart, Her kid-like mischievousness shone through in the decade long ever - escalating April Fools Day rivalry she had with her son, Gabe, and in the way she dragged her son, Eli, into situations that always made him think he was a step away from jail.

Coming from a long line of amazingly strong and independent women, who wielded humour with the ferocity of a hero fighting a dragon, Susan clearly inherited the skill of using that same humour to pick you up and keep you going regardless of what had brought you low. She also carried the torch from these women to become the life of any party - especially the spur-of-the-moment ones she instigated herself - sometimes the lamest but also plausible of reasons. It also helped that she carried a collection of good sangria recipes at the ready at any time in a little book she carried with her everywhere.

As a teacher, she embraced and pioneered new technologies with curiosity and passion, She introduced her students to GPS technology long before it was a part of everyone’s cell phone, and she could rock a SMART board or create a spreadsheet like no other teacher. To her students, she was a booster, a mentor, and a friend, and to colleagues, she will forever be remembered as the teacher parading her costumed students around the hallways at Park View Education Centre for a reenactment of the Congress of Vienna. She was “that” teacher.

Ask her friends to describe her, and loyalty will be mentioned foremost. She sustained and nurtured friendships from childhood, early motherhood, teaching - both in Alberta and various places in Nova Scotia, as well as from the association boards and committees she contributed to as a teacher, and later, in new relationships formed when she took to apartment living. Her mischievous humour, her inquisitive mind, her many talents including a range of creative pursuits, and especially her gift for writing will continue to guide and inspire all those whose lives she touched. The world will be a better place because she was - and "IS" in it.

Susan was dealt a tough blow when she developed a devastating neurological disease, but to say she faced that with courage, humour, determination and strength is the understatement of understatements.

To learn more and spread awareness about this debilitating disease you can visit:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/multiple-system-atrophy/symptoms-causes/syc-20356153

And those who wish, can consider making a donation in her memory to:

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/defeat-msa-multiple-system-atrophy-canada/

OR

https://donate.parkinson.ca/site/Donation2?idb=1906513471&DONATION_LEVEL_ID_SELECTED=1541&df_id=5682&mfc_pref=T&5682.donation=form1&idb=[[S76:idb]]