From Karen Ferguson, Salt Spring Island.

It is hard to express in words the sorrow and loss I feel over Theresa's death. I have so many memories of Theresa. Our shared love and excitement of the natural world is what I cherish the most. Well, that and our sheer enjoyment of being bad grrls......

I lived on a farm in the Highlands for three years and we both spent time there and at nearby Durrance Lake. At the lake we walked and talked. It was nice on one snowy day to share a walk there with Theresa, her parents and of course the family dog.

One time at the farm she told me of her fear to be out in the lake in the dark deep water. That was a surprise to me because she had such a love of the water. One night she and Leigh and I were down at the lake. Theresa just had to be in the water. She waded in, her alabaster skin radiant even though there was no moon. It was as if she was lit up from within.

Staying close to shore she just rolled and rolled, over and over like a seal in the water. She was so happy. We went out in the same lake together in the daylight slowly making our way out into the darker waters while I offered her words of encouragement.

Obviously Theresa did well to move past this fear as she went on to scuba diving. I would just love it when she came to visit after one of her dives. She would be so charged up and would go into great descriptions of the sea life that she encountered. Not only that, but she would study up on her own and be able to describe intricate details of the personal lives of these animals.

The wild and the weird, the mysterious and the mystical, she embraced it all. Theresa had the most penetrating, inquisitive and brilliant mind of anyone I have known. She also had a sweet and gentle heart.

It is such a loss for all of us who knew and will always love Theresa. She had an impact on this world. It is a tragedy that her life was this short. I felt sure that she would be here longer in her journey with us. I felt sure that she would move on in her life and continue to care and fight for the things that mattered to her.

She lives on in everyone she touched. She lives on in me. More than memories, there is a place where she resides in me. She is in my heart. I will continue to find her in the trees, in the pounding surf or under the water's surface in that quiet place, woven into the song of the Winter Wren or through the gentle gaze of a deer.

She had courage to face her fears straight on. She will always be there reminding me to go ahead, dive in and swim. That the dark waters need not keep me on the shore. Thank you dear friend.

I love you Theresa.