"Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure." ~ Oliver Sacks, "My Own Life," Gratitude: 2015.
Alane returned her stardust to the universe, quietly and peacefully, on February 12, after a long period of illnesses and declining health due to the late effects of radiation and chemotherapy treatments for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in the late 1970s. She was born September 18, 1956, in London, England, and emigrated from Scotland to Canada in 1967 with her parents and four siblings.
She was a graduate of the University of Waterloo and the University of British Columbia and enjoyed a rewarding and interesting career in "Libraryland."
Alane treasured many friends in both her personal and professional lives. This group spans many decades and several countries.
Alane is survived by her husband, Terry Noreault, her dog and cats, five siblings and their spouses and children, numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and their children in Canada, Scotland, South Africa and Papua, and her father. She was predeceased by her mother, much-loved younger brother Callan, and many well-loved dogs and cats.
Alane was particularly grateful to the staff of Rexall and qGH Pharmacies, Doctors Sneeta Takhar, Stephen Burns and Arinola Awopetu of Powell River, and Dr. Karen Goddard of the Late Effects, Assessment and Follow-up clinic in Vancouver for their care and careful attention to her complicated medical history. Thanks, too, to RMTs Jamie and Marina, the staff at Beyond Bliss spa, and Holli Curry of Scizzors Salon and Rise Hypnotherapy. Most recently, deep gratitude to the palliative nurses of the Community Health Services for their care. And too many to be named are the many health-care professionals who, over a 40-year span, took the best care of Alane they could.
More generally, Alane was filled with gratitude for the many years she was able to run, ski, hike, dance, garden, kayak, go on long road trips, travel overseas and work hard in her chosen profession, librarianship. As declining health made these pastimes difficult or impossible, she found contentment in reading, listening to music, knitting, crosswords, non-hilly walks with dogs, playing games, being a cat cushion, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, rediscovering paint-by- numbers and virtually attending many choral concerts.
There will be no service at Alane’s request. If you wish, donations in her memory may be made to PROWLS (Powell
River Orphaned Wildlife Society), the Powell River branch of the BC SPCA, or Doctors Without Borders.
"How rare and beautiful it truly is that we exist." (From "Saturn" by Sleeping At Last)
