KASK, Cindy Louise
October 7, 1957 - June 4, 2003
Cindy managed to squeeze a very full and complex life into her allotted few years. Most of that life she has had to cope with diabetes and it’s many painful consequences. The effort required to cope with diabetes would be enough to allow most of us to consider that to be a full time occupation, but not Cindy. She hated being seen as “a diabetic” and preferred to be seen as a person.
CIndy managed to life a full life while pushing her considerable problems aside. First, despite having gone blind, she had a daughter to look after and bring up. She took delight in Ember’s accomplishments, and her graduation, with honours, in 2002, was a pinnacle in her life.
Cindy met, and married Al, and looked after him, as well as Ember, and their home. Their love for each other gave them both the energy and strength to achieve what Cindy wanted, and needed to do. Their support for each other was steadfast despite the many problems they had to overcome.
Cindy always had a family of animals around her: birds, horses and dogs, especially recently Ollie and Raisin. The companionship of animals was an important part of her life.
Cindy had a constant need to give to the community. She was involved in many projects. She became the Canadian National bowling champion and the Canadian National shot put champion in the disabled games, and represented Canada in the Disabled Olympics in Zimbabwe in 1988. She visited schools with her dog Edie, and later with Raisin, to help educate children about disabilities; and demonstrated by her actions how productive a person, labelled as disabled, can be. She was a founding member of the Nanaimo branch of the C.N.I.B.
Cindy continued her education, and trained as a Volunteer Counsellor for the Nanaimo Family Life Association. She showed them how small adjustments in their protocols could allow her, and therefore other handicapped people, to contribute as counsellors.
Many of these activities, as well as medical appointments, involved appointments at difficult times, but Cindy’s enthusiasm generated a group of friends who helped her keep them by driving her to them. But often, things did not work out, and Al had to step in, and re-arrange his life around getting her to these appointments. This was part of their contract.
Through her accomplishments, CIndy has taught us a great deal about values, how to make the most of our energy and resources, how we gain so much by giving to the community, and how to focus on others, even when we have so many reasons to focus on ourselves.
We will miss the energy and love which Cindy generated with her presence. However, we will remember that a lot of what we can now do to contribute to society, is because of what she taught us.
Her legacy is that those she touched feel better people for having known her.
God bless her.
Arrangements confidently assigned to Telford’s Mid-Island Memorial Services