An ordinary Ottawa Lady - her story inspired thousands and her death touched the heart of the city
____________________________
" None of is ever knows how much time
We will be given on this earth.
We've got to make the most of each day.
It's better to knowingly take risks when necessary
And live the life you were meant to live.
The biggest risk of all
Is not living your life to the fullest."
Diane Elizabeth Stuemer (1959-06-23 to 2003-03-15)
__________________________
http://www.canada.com/search/story.aspx?id=05216a68-1242-4f89-a551-d257ad144a14
Readers, fans invited to celebrate Diane's life
Funeral service to be held Thursday at Dominion Chalmers United Church
Zev Singer
The Ottawa Citizen
Tuesday, March 18, 2003
CREDIT: Wayne Cuddington, The Ottawa Citizen
Diane Stuemer and her husband Herbert in Canso, N.S. It was their first time back in Canada since they'd sailed out of Ottawa four years earlier.
For the family of Diane Stuemer, there was never any question about it: the funeral would have to be open to the public. The readers Mrs. Stuemer touched will be invited into the ceremony to mark her passing, just as they were invited into her life once a week for four years.
"It was obvious from the start," Mrs. Stuemer's friend, Diane King, said yesterday of the family's decision to give the public a last chance to say goodbye. "For the people, they needed to do this."
The service for Mrs. Stuemer, the Ottawa woman who inspired the city with her four-year, around-the-world adventure with her husband and three young sons, will be held Thursday at the Dominion Chalmers United Church on Cooper Street at 1:30 p.m.
The church was chosen, Ms. King said, partly because it can hold upwards of 1,000 people. Close to three times that number showed up to greet the family two years ago when they returned from their voyage, which Mrs. Stuemer chronicled in the pages of the Citizen.
"It's not a time to be sad," said Ms. King. "It's a time to celebrate her life."
Ms. King and Mrs. Stuemer's three siblings, Steven and David King and Linda Maslechko, will give eulogies. Rev. Joseph Burke will preside over the service. A three-and-a-half-minute video will also be shown at the funeral, bringing together clips from aboard the Stuemer family sailboat, the Northern Magic.
A reception will follow the ceremony. The family will receive well-wishers before leaving for a private interment.
Ms. King said she was finding it difficult to choose words for the eulogy.
"The problem is that there's so much good to say," she said. "It's also very difficult because it means that then she's really gone -- although I still feel her all around."
Ms. King said that an emotional moment for the family came on Sunday, when Mrs. Stuemer's sister picked up their parents, Frank and Jeanette King, at the airport as they arrived from Calgary. Without explaining why, she drove her parents to City Hall. Then she showed them the flags were all flying at half staff for their daughter. The flags will remain that way until after the funeral.
Mrs. Stuemer, who had a number of weeks to prepare herself and her family for her death, which happened Saturday, helped make decisions about the service, Ms. King said. The most important thing to Mrs. Stuemer, however, was the success of the causes she championed, according to Ms. King.
Among the causes dearest to her was the Boniface and Hamisi Project, which has raised thousands of dollars for impoverished Kenyan children, to which people can donate through the Northern Magic Fund for International Development.
The Dominion Chalmers United Church is at 355 Cooper St., at the corner of O'Connor Street. Parking is limited.
Admirers and well wishers can also attend visitation at the Hulse, Playfair and McGarry funeral home at 315 McLeod St.
The hours are 7 to 9 p.m. tonight and tomorrow night and from 1 to 3 p.m. tomorrow. Memory books can be signed there and condolences can also be left at www.northernmagic.com .
Diane Stuemer, 1959-2003
© Copyright 2003 The Ottawa Citizen
___________
More articles from Ottawa Citizen:
http://www.canada.com/search/results.aspx?keywords=stuemer
____________________________
" None of is ever knows how much time
We will be given on this earth.
We've got to make the most of each day.
It's better to knowingly take risks when necessary
And live the life you were meant to live.
The biggest risk of all
Is not living your life to the fullest."
Diane Elizabeth Stuemer (1959-06-23 to 2003-03-15)
__________________________
http://www.canada.com/search/story.aspx?id=05216a68-1242-4f89-a551-d257ad144a14
Readers, fans invited to celebrate Diane's life
Funeral service to be held Thursday at Dominion Chalmers United Church
Zev Singer
The Ottawa Citizen
Tuesday, March 18, 2003
CREDIT: Wayne Cuddington, The Ottawa Citizen
Diane Stuemer and her husband Herbert in Canso, N.S. It was their first time back in Canada since they'd sailed out of Ottawa four years earlier.
For the family of Diane Stuemer, there was never any question about it: the funeral would have to be open to the public. The readers Mrs. Stuemer touched will be invited into the ceremony to mark her passing, just as they were invited into her life once a week for four years.
"It was obvious from the start," Mrs. Stuemer's friend, Diane King, said yesterday of the family's decision to give the public a last chance to say goodbye. "For the people, they needed to do this."
The service for Mrs. Stuemer, the Ottawa woman who inspired the city with her four-year, around-the-world adventure with her husband and three young sons, will be held Thursday at the Dominion Chalmers United Church on Cooper Street at 1:30 p.m.
The church was chosen, Ms. King said, partly because it can hold upwards of 1,000 people. Close to three times that number showed up to greet the family two years ago when they returned from their voyage, which Mrs. Stuemer chronicled in the pages of the Citizen.
"It's not a time to be sad," said Ms. King. "It's a time to celebrate her life."
Ms. King and Mrs. Stuemer's three siblings, Steven and David King and Linda Maslechko, will give eulogies. Rev. Joseph Burke will preside over the service. A three-and-a-half-minute video will also be shown at the funeral, bringing together clips from aboard the Stuemer family sailboat, the Northern Magic.
A reception will follow the ceremony. The family will receive well-wishers before leaving for a private interment.
Ms. King said she was finding it difficult to choose words for the eulogy.
"The problem is that there's so much good to say," she said. "It's also very difficult because it means that then she's really gone -- although I still feel her all around."
Ms. King said that an emotional moment for the family came on Sunday, when Mrs. Stuemer's sister picked up their parents, Frank and Jeanette King, at the airport as they arrived from Calgary. Without explaining why, she drove her parents to City Hall. Then she showed them the flags were all flying at half staff for their daughter. The flags will remain that way until after the funeral.
Mrs. Stuemer, who had a number of weeks to prepare herself and her family for her death, which happened Saturday, helped make decisions about the service, Ms. King said. The most important thing to Mrs. Stuemer, however, was the success of the causes she championed, according to Ms. King.
Among the causes dearest to her was the Boniface and Hamisi Project, which has raised thousands of dollars for impoverished Kenyan children, to which people can donate through the Northern Magic Fund for International Development.
The Dominion Chalmers United Church is at 355 Cooper St., at the corner of O'Connor Street. Parking is limited.
Admirers and well wishers can also attend visitation at the Hulse, Playfair and McGarry funeral home at 315 McLeod St.
The hours are 7 to 9 p.m. tonight and tomorrow night and from 1 to 3 p.m. tomorrow. Memory books can be signed there and condolences can also be left at www.northernmagic.com .
Diane Stuemer, 1959-2003
© Copyright 2003 The Ottawa Citizen
___________
More articles from Ottawa Citizen:
http://www.canada.com/search/results.aspx?keywords=stuemer
