Yellowknife (July 18/03) - A group of local people are showing there can be beautiful life after death.

With the creation of the Garden of Hope, those who knew and loved Loraine Minish-Cooper can now remember her through the life of the plants gracing her memorial garden.

"Everyone is so happy because creating this garden means we are doing something for Loraine. It's not just a statue, a plaque or a bench -- this garden is a living thing," said Johnny Covello, a long-time friend of Minish-Cooper.

Covello and many others created the garden to fulfil a last wish of avid gardener and respected lawyer Minish-Cooper, who died from breast cancer last summer.

"She wanted a garden of hope for all the people who have breast cancer and the families of those that do," said Covello.

Covello said Minish-Cooper selected the spot for the garden, behind City Hall, before she died because many of her family photographs were taken there.

Whether they knew Minish-Cooper personally or not, many Yellowknifers supported the project, either through planting or donating materials.

"It's amazing how many people came out to help us shovel dirt and plant," said Linda Dunbar, who designed the garden.

The garden includes favourite plants and flowers of Minish-Cooper's, benches, a footpath through the garden and even a labyrinth (maze) design made with connecting rocks.

"The idea of a labyrinth is to walk around until you get to the end and then contemplate things," said Covello. When the volunteers were working on the garden one weekend, Covello said she heard someone say, "this is just so like Yellowknife" regarding all the involvement from the community in the project.

The group of gardeners hope the garden will remain a place people in the community frequent, and that volunteers continue to support the maintenance of the memorial.

"I hope this turns into something that will go on forever," said Covello.