Elsie Shoshanah Dolorna Huestis

April 21 1998-June 25 2023

Elsie lived a courageous, creative, loving and generous life. She grew up in the ancestral territories of the Kwikwetlem and Katzie First Nations, until she spent her young adult years in the forests of Roberts Creek (Shishalh territory).

As a baby, her smile was a sunbeam that warmed everyone around her. She was full of fun and laughter, loving and teasing her first and deeply devoted friend, her brother Gaelen. She regarded our little dog Lucy as another sibling, and all her life considered animals and all creatures to be people too. She was a free spirit from the start, and no car seat was ever a match for her agile escapes. She simply would not be contained.

She naturally swam like a dolphin, seeming to be more at home in the water than out of it. When not in forests and trails with her family, she preferred to spend time drawing and writing stories. Drawing was her language, and school assignments would often be completed in drawing form rather than essays. She was bright, perceptive and a very hard worker, taking on many jobs that would be avoided by most. Her well worn steel toed boots are a testament to many tough shifts.

Her artistic skill and interests grew with natural talent to include multi-media, photography, painting and murals. Abandoned buildings, walls and vehicles were a favourite. Elsie said that she believed that even places that are no longer cared for deserve to be beautiful, if only temporarily. She loved to learn and explore, in a way that could not happen for her in a classroom. She travelled solo to Vancouver Island, Northern BC and Alberta as well as Ireland - with fierce independence and connection with the land and its people wherever she found herself.

Elsie’s perceptions with all senses were deep and astutely sensitive. She felt urban settings were not good for her, and so with her good buddy Chakira, set off for the Sunshine Coast. In part due to the lack of housing, like other working people there she set up home in remote parts of the mountain and discovered she was most at peace in the quiet of the woods, creeks and in the company of wild creatures. She developed beautiful friendships there with a caring and diverse community of people who shared a devotion to caring for the land and in each other. Social justice, including Indigenous rights, environmental and housing as well as health care and food for those without homes were prominent concerns and involvements for Elsie. She became well known as someone who would welcome anyone, share food she foraged or found, and medicines she created as well as emotional support to anyone who was in need. She was reputed to be an intuitive and healing young woman of the forests, and it was even thought she could see in the dark as she could find her way at night through any forest and across the mountain.

Meanwhile, Elsie developed an interest in tattoo artistry which, like all her endeavours, she taught herself. Her designs were unique and became in demand. She preferred to gift her art and would never accept the level of payment people felt she deserved. Paintings on long boards, tattoo designs, and all kinds of paintings including commissioned murals, designs and an album cover for a local band were among the works she produced on the coast. She always supported the work of other artists, and encouraged friends to believe in themselves.

In just a few years, Elsie lived a powerfully genuine creative and loving life. This was despite her own struggles, including mental health challenges, and being a unique learner in educational and economic systems that seemed unable to include or support her. Many parents of children and young people who have similar challenges are familiar with how this can be. We are so thankful to anyone who was kind to Elsie; to each one of her friends and Creek family members who are in our hearts. We love you. As her family, we are so honoured to have had the privilege of having this bright shining loving beautiful person in our lives. We wish we could have done more, and love you now and forever. We miss you deeply, endlessly even though we know your light and love is with us.

Elsie’s final message was one of pure love and gratitude. Ours to her is the same.

A Stor mo chroi

Ta gra’ i mo chroi duit

Mo Cuishle Mo Chroi

Please join us in remembrance and honouring Elsie at First Memorial Burkeview Chapel located at 1340 Dominion Avenue in Port Coquitlam on Monday, November 20, 2023 starting at 1:00 pm.

Reception to follow.

For those that wish to join us virtually, please visit: https://fweb.tv/110907

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.firstmemorialportcoquitlam.com for the Huestis family.