School District 47 has issued a media release informing the public of the sudden passing of school trustee Jackie Timothy.
The release stated that during this sorrowful time, the school district wants to extend its condolences to his wife Kim, a school district teacher, and her family.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with you,” stated School District 47 superintendent Dr. Jay Yule.
Board of education chair Dale Lawson stated: “Jackie was a soft-spoken man with strong conviction to his family and his culture. Love, peace, joy, happiness, and respect for all was the foundation of everything he did.
“Jackie was always willing to share a story. His many experiences shaped not only who he was but also touched the lives of everyone he chose to spend time and share his life with. Jackie’s presence around our board table, his commitment to education, and his kindness will be just a small part of his legacy. He will be missed deeply.”
The release provided a glimpse into Timothy’s past from a profile of his work at Vancouver Public Library. The following was a biography of Timothy as a storyteller in residence in 2010 at that library:
Jackie Timothy is a storyteller, cultural presenter and master carver from Tla’amin Nation near Powell River. Sharing the ancestral name La-Sah with his brother, he descends from the hereditary chief lineage of his village and his grandparents identified him as a traditional storyteller.
Timothy is also a residential school survivor. When he was four years old, he was taken to the Sechelt Indian Residential School. Because he already identified strongly with his culture and retained his grandparents’ advice to remember who you are and where you are from, he endured and succeeded through very difficult times.
Timothy shares his profound gift for traditional storytelling with listeners of all cultures and ages. The stories handed down to him through generations of his Coast Salish heritage are largely unknown outside his culture.
