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Obituary for Lisa Esther van Drielen
Lisa Esther van Drielen
March 4, 1968 – April 26, 2019
It is with great sadness that Lisa’s family announce her passing in Cranbrook Hospital on April 26, 2019 after she lived with cancer for the past 11/2 years.
Lisa lived her childhood years in the Blaeberry Valley near Golden BC where she always loved to be outdoors, whether it was hauling wood, hiking, cross country skiing or enjoying the flowers and wildlife. Lisa finished Grade 12 in Vancouver. It was the first time she chose art as an option and won the King George art scholarship. Later she travelled in UK and Europe and studied at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. Esther’s Nostalgic Art was the name she chose to describe her many creative works. She loved painting, writing, had a great sense of design and a flare for all things creative.
Life dealt Lisa many curve balls but she persevered with determination, fierce independence and humour. Her strong sense of compassion, empathy and caring for all living beings and in particular those facing difficult times came from a place of experience and wisdom.
She is much loved and will be dearly missed by mother Enid Petherick, father Ralph van Drielen, sister Amber, as well as many aunts, uncles, and cousins in Ontario and the USA, and her many friends made while on life’s journey.
In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Lisa would be appreciated to the East Kootenay Foundation for Health – Mental Health programs www.ekfh.ca.
The Zen
By Lisa Esther van Drielen
This turtle I see
On a ledge
Overlooking the water
In the ancient Chinese garden
Where I am pretending
To be a sage
The ultimate zen
I hear a passerby say in comment
And I am not sure
If he is referring to me
Or to the turtle
All the memories
I keep stored up
All the mysteries
I carry with me
The hard walls of my life
So brittle and so tall
I am looking to be
As comfortable with myself
And as collected
As that turtle
Not unhappy to be small
And convinced that I am
Worthy
Secure in myself
And in all I hold dear
That home is near
