May 14/99

In memory of

a friend

thododendron plant and a plaque

have been placed outside the Fir
building near the second floor kiosk in
memoriam to former student, Lisa van
Reeuwyk.

Lisa died of a brain aneurysm on
January 31. She had been enrolled in the
Legal Assistant program at Capilano
College since September 1997. Eager to
embark upon a new career, the 31-year-
old had a goal to specialize in
environmental law. This field of choice
was especially motivated by her
passionate love of nature and deep
concern for social and environmental
justice. Her academic achievements
include receiving the Real Estate
Foundation Scholarship in November
1998, as well as maintaining a
distinguished place on the Dean’s list.
Lisa recently worked with human rights
research lawyer, Sandra Goundry, who
praised Lisa for her diligent work ethic
and compassion. She also held a
Bachelor of Arts degree (History) from
Trinity Western University.

With such a love and passion for
nature, it is no wonder that Lisa’s
favourite pasttimes were hiking and
backpacking. A naturalist in her own
right, Lisa could identify what seemed

like hundreds of plants, trees, and
wildlife. She always paid attention to
the smallest detail and took pleasure in
life’s simple things. Lisa took nothing
for granted. Each summer, she would
plan a week to 10-day expedition with
her close friends and family. In the past,
these adventures have included the West
Coast Trail, Banff National Park and the
Bowron Lakes.

Lisa’s many talents included being a
gifted photographer, gardener and
exquisite cook. In fact, although she was
a student and had to budget herself
tightly, Lisa could make a gourmet meal
out of whatever she had in the fridge.
Her culinary talents were probably
appreciated most on the mountainside,
where she put together the best
vegetarian burrito this side of El Paso.
Indeed, Lisa could have shown James
Barber a thing or two about resourceful
and creative gourmet cooking.

Most of all, Lisa was incredibly
sensitive and kind. For those of us who
were blessed to be amongst her closest
friends, Lisa always made each one of
us feel like the most important person
in the world. She was a careful and
thoughtful listener, and would come
running to a friend in need at any hour

Submitted by Lisa’s best friends, Cara-Lee Malange and

Justine Head. Justine is a student in the
Legal Assistant program. Photos
by Edna Sakata.

of the day or night. She was also filled
with fun and laughter, spontaneity and
mischief; all the ingredients that made
her a once-in-a-lifetime friend.

Lisa was deeply loved by her many
friends and family. While her death has
left a painful and incomprehensible
void in our lives, this loss has also
shown us how we have been so truly
blessed by her love and friendship —
the most important parts of Lisa that
will always remain with us. For those
of us that were close to Lisa, we see
her legacy as a reminder to live our
dreams today, to be socially and
environmentally conscious, to love and
respect nature, to love the simple and
beautiful things in life, to eat well, to
laugh a lot, to put our lives into
perspective, and to always, always tell
our loved ones how much we care about
them.

The mauve rhododendron is a fitting
tribute, as Lisa always said how
beautiful the campus was. She always
took the time to stop and enjoy her
surroundings and to live in the moment;
something everybody should try to do.

Thank you to Rob Welsh in the
Horticulture department for his help in
finding and planting the rhododendron.

@nformer