Around Town: TWU champs, memorial for sisters, burying the unknown . . .

It’s not like it’s ancient history, but if you look back on the humble beginning of Trinity Western Spartans women’s volleyball, it certainly seems like a long time ago.

Starting in the 1999 – 2000 Canada West season, the Langley program began its life in Canadian Interuniversity Sport [CIS] by losing its first 42 straight conference matches.

On Sunday, as it won for the 23rd time in its past 24 matches, the contrast over 16 seasons was stunning.

“It’s an unreal feeling, a feeling that it’s hard to believe it’s actually happening,” Spartans head coach Ryan Hofer exclaimed in the moments after his team rallied from an 0-2 start to stun the Alberta Pandas 3-2 (22-25, 23-25, 25-15 25-15, 15-11) to win the program’s first-ever national title. “You just think back on the all of the hard work a go, wow, this is so rewarding.”

Memorial for Shiloh and Keziah Johnston

The lives of Keziah (left) and Shiloh Johnston will be celebrated at Willingdon Church.

The lives of two sisters who died just a few days apart last month will be celebrated at Willingdon Church this Saturday (March 7) at 10 am. Here is a portion of an article about Shiloh and Keziah Johnston in The Tri-City News:

A grieving young Coquitlam woman who wanted a legacy bench to keep the memory of her younger sister alive will now have a bench in her name as well after she died tragically in a car accident.

A fundraising campaign has been established on the website gofundme.com to buy the bench and contribute to other charities supported by Keziah, 20, and Shiloh Johnston, 22.

The two young women died within 10 days of each other, Keziah earlier in February of undisclosed causes, and Shiloh on February 17 from injuries she sustained when she was hit by a car while walking.

Now their friends, families and church communities are in mourning. . . .

According to the website, Shiloh was back at her second day of work after taking a week off to grieve her younger sister’s death and was walking during a lunch break when she was struck by a car that had collided with another vehicle.

Cari Andrews, a friend from Shiloh’s drama ministry at Northside Foursquare, recalls Shiloh as a person who was full of life and drew people in. “You could tell [she] had Jesus in her,” noted Andrews, who recalled her friend’s perseverance and dedication.

Ves Vukovic with one of his creations at his business, Stonemarks. He also makes gravestones for people who have died without family.

Douglas Todd’s blog featured an interesting story the other day about how people are buried when no one knows who they are. Most such burials – “in this careful-to-not-offend era . . . ‘pauper’s burials’ are now technically called ‘ministry burials’ – take place at Surrey Centre Cemetery.