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Honouring Elsie Yanik

Last Updated Sep 26, 2017 at 5:38 am MDT

PHOTO. Supplied. Elsie Yanik visiting the construction site of the school that will bear her name in Parsons Creek.

Sept. 25 would have been Elsie Yanik’s 100th birthday. Yanik passed away last year at the age of 99. She was a predominate member of the community, a catalyst for the McMurray Métis whose kindness was truly contagious.

Born in Fort Fit Fitzgerald, she lived mostly all her life in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, calling Fort McMurray and Fort Chipewyan home.

Her dedication to community can be seen through her hard work, including a decade of service to the Young Offenders Board and work with the Nunee Health Authority in Fort Chipewyan.

She also became ordained as a lay minister to perform the Roman Catholic priest’s duties in Fort Chipewyan for over a decade when the community did not have a resident priest.

Among Yanik’s life achievements include her being blessed by Pope John Paul II, receiving the Governor General’s Commemorative Medal and honorary degrees from the University of Alberta and Keyano College.

She was the recipient of the Indspire 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award and was an Olympic Torchbearer in Fort McMurray for the 2010 Olympics.

In her memory there has been many scholarships named after her and one of the greatest honours, a Catholic Elementary School in Fort McMurray.

Education was something Yanik valued highly and always encouraged people to pursue.

She leaves behind an inspiration for many future generations with her dedication to learning, faith, and call to serve.