Shawna CHRISTIANSON CLARKE

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CHRISTIANSON CLARKE: Shawna Jean Christianson Clarke lived life to the fullest. She died as she lived - with grace, courage, selflessness and surrounded by loving family and friends. Shawna was born to Edith (Edie) and Carl Christianson on August 17, 1967. Being born in Canada’s centennial year may partially explain why she was the consummate patriot and why Canada Day fireworks always made her cry. A family friend filled Edie’s maternity room with gladiolas and forever after they were Shawna’s flower. Shawna was welcomed home in Brandon, Manitoba by brothers Bruce and Brian, and sister Susan who gave Shawna her name. Having older siblings, Shawna was fond of saying she grew up with 3 fathers and two mothers. Shawna attended Crocus Plains High School in Brandon and had legions of friends. Her sense of social justice started in school where she could always be counted on to stand up for the underdog. Later she obtained her Bachelors of Arts and a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Manitoba. Shawna joined the staff of the Hon. Lloyd Axworthy in Ottawa in 1995. In 2000, she moved to the Human Rights Division of Foreign Affairs Canada. In 2004, she joined the Peace Building and Human Development Division which became the Human Security Policy Division. It was there that Shawna was on the cutting edge of developing Canada's Corporate Social Responsibility Policy and engaging like-minded countries to coordinate efforts. She traveled the world doing work that gave fulfillment to her crusading heart. She married the love of her life, John Nathaniel Clarke on February 4, 2006. On their first date, John presented Shawna with gladiolas. It was clear that she completed him and he completed her. Within weeks of their wedding they moved to Sudan, where both John and Shawna worked for the United Nations. Their son John Carlyle Clarke was born in 2006 and their daughter Kathleen (Katie) Edith Vilma Clarke was born in 2008. Shawna was a proud and devoted mother; her smile was never brighter than when she held her children in her arms. The family moved to Jerusalem in 2009, John to serve as Chief of the Coordination Unit, within the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, while Shawna worked for the United Nations Relief Works Agency. Wherever they went, they amassed many friends, with Shawna naturally knitting people into a community. They travelled the world, visiting Kenya, Tanzania, India, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria among many other countries, but always returning to Canada and family and friends in Manitoba and Ottawa. Diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of Multiple Myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow, in October 2013, Shawna focused the past year on living life to its fullest and ensuring her family, and particularly her children John and Katie, had the benefit of her love. Strong and determined, Shawna surpassed her physicians’ most optimistic expectations to be with her family. Shawna died peacefully surrounded by family and friends in Jerusalem, Israel on January 2, 2015. Shawna was predeceased by her father Carl in 1993. Sadly her mother-in-law, Vilma Clarke passed away ten days after Shawna in Jerusalem on 12 January, 2015. She leaves behind to cherish her memory her husband John and children John and Katie; her mother Edie, brothers Bruce (sister-in-law Holly, niece Jessica and nephew Matthew), Brian (sister-in-law Julie, and nephews Georg, Matthew and Gabe) and sister Susan, father-in-law John Clarke and countless friends around the world. A funeral service, filled with music, gladiolas and love, was held in St. George’s Anglican cathedral in Jerusalem on January 6, 2015. A celebration was held in Ottawa at the National Arts Centre January 30. A scholarship fund has been established through the United Nations Relief Works Agency where Shawna worked to support higher education of Palestinian women http://www.unrwa.org/content/shawna-scholarship-fund

As published in Brandon Sun on Jan 31, 2015