Donate to help with funeral expenses and flights

Annemarie (July 8, 2019 – February 5, 2023)

Annemarie died unexpectedly at the age of three and a half, leaving her parents, four siblings, and extended community in heartbreak. Weighted by profound grief, the family also has sudden large expenses, including a funeral and the cost of flights to northern Ontario. This fundraiser is to support their immediate financial needs so that the family can concentrate on remembering this loving little girl with the purest heart, who would want her family to thrive.

Jonathon and Claudia and their children came to Ottawa less than two years ago from their home community of Kashechewan/Fort Albany in northern Ontario to access health care for Annemarie.

She was their light, a child who was profoundly communicative without words, and who lived with autism, asthma, Waardenburg syndrome, and a tendency to become intensely ill when she caught a cold or flu. Despite being medically fragile, she was also a curious little girl who loved Dora the Explorer and playing with her toys.

She was adored by her family.

There are no words to describe the pain that Annemarie’s family is in right now. The loss of this sweet cherub of a special child seems impossible.

They are from a close-knit Indigenous community and many members of their extended family immediately flew down to Ottawa to help, but Claudia & Jonathon and their other 4 children would like to go home to bury their child next to her ancestors.

All of these flights and hotels are expensive, particularly for a young family who was not financially secure to begin with.

I met Claudia through our neighbourhood Facebook group, and she is always eager to share what she has, even though she has so little. She once literally took the coat off of her back for me to give to a refugee family, insisting that it was warmer than she needed. Her community spirit and generosity are immense, and I truly hope that right now the world is generous in return.

All funds raised will go to Annemarie's mother, Claudia Koosees.

Thank you for reading, and for sending love and support to Annemarie's family.