Siu-Ling Han

Siu-ling Han

January 22, 1963 - August 29, 2016

Siu-ling passed away in Ottawa on August 29, 2016, surrounded by the gentle love of her family and dogs, after a battle with ovarian cancer. She prepared and embarked on this next journey as she had on all of her other adventures - with wisdom, calm, pragmatism, and a smile.

And what a life filled with adventure. A traveller right from the start, Siu-ling was born in Munich and first arrived in Canada at just 10 months of age when her family immigrated. From an early age, Bing and Kim Han encouraged Siu-ling and her two younger brothers Jeff and Tim to embrace the outdoors, and the family could often be found camping or on the ski trail. It was those early years that ultimately inspired Siu-ling to pursue a bachelor and master's degree in biology at the University of Waterloo. This led to her first encounters with the Arctic when she spent summers studying wildlife in field camps from Labrador to Ellesmere Island.

Siu-ling began her career with the Northern Contaminants Program at the Government of Canada, helping to draft international protocols for persistent organic pollutants. In 1998, she moved to Iqaluit to work for the wildlife research program for the Government of the Northwest Territories and later for the Canadian Wildlife Service with the Government of Canada. Siu-ling quickly earned the respect of scientists and Inuit hunters alike. When asked her secret for forging such strong working relationships, she simply replied: Be kind.

Iqaluit became Siu-ling's home and her inspiration, not only in her work, but through her dog team, her community and finally her music. A study in contrasts, Siu-ling could often surprise: Humble, yet forceful; Philosophical, yet infinitely sensible. Her strengths and qualities were expressed through competitive skiing, her sketching, her deep friendships and through a final gift to the world – a CD of songs she had written and recorded after much encouragement from her friends, aptly entitled “To Those Who Would Show Kindness”. The story about this project can be found at www.siu-ling.ca .

Siu-ling has now started her next journey, and although out of sight, she will always be just beyond the horizon. Her love and spirit will live on in her parents Bing and Kim, brothers Jeff (Diane Waclawik) and Tim, nieces Kina and Yi Zhen, and nephews Jin, Kellen and Shawn. A special thanks to her core support network, her love people, both personal and medical. An ‘afterparty' (as Siu-ling called it) will take place Monday, September 5, 2016 at Tubman Funeral Homes, Garden Chapel, 3440 Richmond Rd, Ottawa, Nepean, ON K2H 8H7, Canada, from 3 pm until 5 pm.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to www.paypal.me/siulingmusic . Donations and proceeds from the sale of the album will be used to directly fund youth mental health initiatives in Nunavut.