Lilja Tamasin Johanna Bruckshaw
Age 2415 May 2019
Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada)
Suicide
Lilja died by suicide after a long battle with depression. She worked as a legal secretary and receptionist, and had supportive family members, friends and colleagues.
Lilja Tamasin Johanna Bruckshaw, after a courageous battle with depression, succumbed to that illness on May 15, 2019. She was 24 years old.
She is survived by her parents, Allison and Peter, by her brother and sister, Jon (Bailie) and Elinor, by her grandmothers, Barbara Kaleta and Vaughn Pridmore (Curt), by her aunts, Miranda Winn (Vern) and Wendy Duncan (David), and by her cousins, Jocelyn Keith (Dan) and Rachel Duncan (Scott), all of whom loved her and will miss her dearly. She was predeceased by her grandfathers, Don Flatt and Peter Kaleta.
From an early age Lilja loved music. She played the piano, guitar, bass guitar, and upright bass. She also created electronic music on her computer. She listened to music attentively, savouring every musical phrase. When she was invited to be a DJ at CKUW, she was thrilled to introduce her listeners to Japanese electronic music and Vapourwave.
Lilja's facility with languages was truly phenomenal. She spoke English and French fluently, her Esperanto was passable, her Japanese was a work in progress, and her Klingon was impeccable. She also had a fascination for pop culture, beginning with the Andy Warhol phenomena of the 1960s, French cinema, through to K-pop and Japanese anime.
Throughout her life, Lilja was kind and gentle with everyone she encountered. She possessed a young person's certitude on many issues of social justice and would speak with conviction on such matters, but she never had a harsh word or criticism directed at any person. Her generosity extended to all, including strangers in need. Lilja felt passionate about global warming opting to walk 10 km each day to and from work - rain or shine. She was also concerned with animal cruelty and chose to be a vegan.
Several years ago Lilja transitioned to female, because inside - where it counts - she was in fact a woman. She had the loving support for that transition from her whole family and all her wonderful friends. She went through that difficult physical and social change with grace and courage.
Lilja worked as a legal secretary and receptionist at St. Mary's Law for several years. She will be deeply missed by her workplace friends and colleagues.
For all of her many interests and her work Lilja will be remembered most for her gentle nature, her kindness, her courage, and her wonderful sense of humour. Her memory warms and sustains us now at this difficult time, and we will hold on to her lovely and inspiring memory for the rest of our lives.
https://passages.winnipegfreepress.com/passage-details/id-264325/BRUCKSHAW_LILJA
https://memorials.neilbardalfuneralhome.com/Bruckshaw-Lilja/3848197/obit.php?&printable=true
