Editor:
May 3 marks the first year since the death of Eleasha Wesley, a Grade 4 student at Exshaw School, and she is missed by all who knew her.
On that day last year, Exshaw School community had assembled for a talent show. The students mustered their courage to perform for the audience, and indeed, they made us proud. Eleasha’s older sister, Sarah, delivered a particularly inspiring performance of last year’s hit song, “Rolling in the Deep.” It had been a wonderful afternoon. We couldn’t have known then that one of our little ones would not be returning to school.
At her funeral, the First Nations’ drum, with its distinctive, measured cadence, announced the arrival of Eleasha’s procession. Relatives, classmates and teachers escorted her into the standing-room-only gymnasium. None of us will ever forget the heartbreakingly beautiful, sparkly pink taffeta that adorned her casket.
Those of us from Exshaw and Canmore were unprepared for the service to run for approximately four hours. But it takes time to honour a life, and it takes time to do this well. There were stories and poems to be shared, songs to be sung. The teachings of old were recounted again by the elders. A thousand people came together to mourn and to lean on one another. Indeed, it was time well spent.
To Eleasha’s family and friends in the Morley and Exshaw communities: our thoughts are with you, as we remember Eleasha.
Michelle Eve,
Exshaw School Advisory Council
