Memorial held in skatepark in honour of recently deceased Kitchener, Ont. woman
On a sunny Saturday afternoon in Waterloo Park, the sounds of skateboards gliding across pavement filled the park as family and friends of Jaqueline McDermott gathered to remember the young woman.
"The first time I met her, she had such a bright smile, she was just kind of glowing all the time,” explained Dan Maloney, a friend and organizer of the event.
“She was just the person you wanted to be around,” he said.
Maloney added the two became fast friends as they skateboarded together and would often trade art.
McDermott, 22, was reported missing in early October while she was travelling through B.C. for a meditation retreat.
Last Sunday, her body was found by search and rescue crews. Police do not believe any criminal activity was involved in her death.
Jacqueline McDermott's memorial was held at a skate park in Waterloo on Oct. 15. (Taz Dhaliwal/CTV News Kitchener)
McDermott’s uncle, Justin St-Maurice said her spirituality was a guiding principle in her life.
"She really liked meditation and trying to be zen and really was just a very spiritual person, and that's how I'm going to remember her," stated St-Maurice.
Maloney described his late friend as someone who had a deep passion for skateboarding and art, two outlets McDermott used to connect with others.
"She had an art project called NDS - a nice day shining or whatever your own interpretation of it is, and I'd seen her stickers across the skate park,” Maloney said.
He added that McDermott was someone that was well-known and liked throughout the skateboarding scene in the Kitchener-Waterloo are.
Throughout Saturday afternoon, loved ones stopped by to place flowers at a makeshift memorial growing in the park. Beside it, a small art station had been set up where canvasses and key chains could be painted in memory of McDermott.
"She was a beautiful soul and shared that through her art,” said Tessa Kohler, another friend who met McDermott through her husband.
Kohler said she was the kind of person who could bring all kinds of people together.
"The skate community is so interwoven with art and fashion, so it all connects in one way or another,” Kohler explained. “It's really beautiful to see the community of everyone she touched come together and kind of become one."
St-Maurice said the family is thankful for all of the support they’ve received through this difficult time.
"We certainly appreciate the community and have learned how much of an impact Jaqui's had, and that's been really touching to us."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING 120 active fires burning across Canada, 30 are 'out of control'
The 2024 wildfire season has begun, and it's shaping up to follow last year's unprecedented destruction in kind, with thousands of square kilometres already consumed.
Veteran TSN sportscaster Darren Dutchyshen has died
Veteran TSN broadcaster Darren 'Dutch' Dutchyshen, one of Canada’s best-known sports journalists, has died. He was 57. His family says 'he passed as he was surrounded by his closest loved ones.'
BREAKING B.C. parents sentenced to 15 years for death of 6-year-old boy
A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has sentenced the mother and stepfather of a six-year-old boy who died from blunt-force trauma in 2018 to 15 years in prison.
Speaker cuts ties with Sask. Party, alleges he faced threats, harassment from gov't MLAs
The Speaker of the Saskatchewan Legislature Randy Weekes has severed ties with the Sask. Party after accusing some members of harassment and intimidation tactics, including a situation he claimed saw the Government House Leader bring a hunting rifle to the legislative building.
Kevin Spacey receives star support as he fights to get his career back
Kevin Spacey is pushing back on the 'rush to judgment' against him and is being backed by some big names as he seeks to reclaim his acting career.
A Toronto man killed his mother and decapitated her. His lawyers argue it wasn't murder
A ‘lifetime of abuse’ led Dallas Ly to snap and repeatedly stab his mother inside their Leslieville apartment in 2022 but he never intended to kill her, his defence lawyers argued during his murder trial in Toronto on Thursday.
Father charged with second-degree murder in daughter's stabbing death southwest of Montreal
A father has been charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of his 34-year-old daughter in southern Quebec.
Trudeau calls New Brunswick's Conservative government a 'disgrace' on women's rights
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assailed New Brunswick's premier and other conservative leaders on Thursday, calling out the provincial government's position on abortion, LGBTQ youth and climate change.
The latest advice for expecting parents? Sign up for childcare as soon as you're pregnant
Canada's new $10-a-day child care program is expanding, but there's growing evidence that demand for the program is rising even faster, leaving many parents on the outside looking in.