Family mourns Sahtu woman found in Yellowknife alley
Faye Grandjambe remembered as a kind, loving person by family and friends
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Updated Monday, October 6, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A funeral will be held Monday afternoon in Fort Good Hope for a Sahtu woman whose body was found behind the Gold Range Hotel in Yellowknife Sept 27.
Cynthia Grandjambe, left, places flowers on a wall behind the Gold Range Hotel on Sept. 30. The memorial marks the spot where Faye Grandjambe was found unresponsive on the morning of Sept. 27. An autopsy has failed to determine the cause of death. - Cody Punter/NNSL photo |
Faye Grandjambe, 30, was found unresponsive in a downtown alley in the capital early in the morning. Police were called to the scene at 7:30 a.m. After initial resuscitation efforts, she was later pronounced dead at Stanton Territorial Hospital, said NWT Chief Coroner Cathy Menard.
"It's been a difficult week for the family, She was a loving, well-liked person. She's already missed," Faye's mother Dora Grandjambe told News/North.
The funeral will be held at Church of Our Lady of Good Hope, she said.
An autopsy performed in Edmonton last week failed to determine the cause of death and police are not pursuing suspects related to the death.
Const. Elenore Sturko, spokesperson for the RCMP, said it's being treated as a sudden death.
"There was nothing untoward about Grandjambe's death," she said. "The public doesn't need to worry about their safety as it pertains to this incident."
Menard said it could take up to three to four months before a cause of death is known because that's how long it takes to complete a toxicology report, and added this type of report can determine whether a person has died from poisoning, prescription or other drugs, or alcohol.
The RCMP likely won't be releasing any more information about the death until officers receive the toxicology report, said Sturko.
She could not say how many officers have been assigned to the case.
Faye was born in Fort Good Hope and moved to Yellowknife with her family was she was five, her mother said.
The family, including Faye's now nine-year-old son Thomas, moved to Norman Wells about four years ago.
"She was a loving, caring person, kind to everyone even if she didn't know you," Dora said.
She did not wish to speak about why Faye was in Yellowknife that night.
Cynthia Grandjambe, Faye's sister, placed two floral arrangements on the wall behind the Gold Range last week, near where her body was found, as a memorial to her sister.
Edward Albert, who described Faye as a childhood friend, visited the memorial with Cynthia last Tuesday.
He said he had known Faye since kindergarten.
"She was a good friend and a stand-up kind of girl," he said. "It's really sad that this has happened. Everybody loved her."
Sahtu MLA Norman Yakeleya is among those sharing their condolences with the Grandjambe family.
"We're all sad. We're all in mourning," he said.
"The fact she was only 30 and leaves a nine-year-old son makes this death even more tragic."
While he did not wish to speculate about how she may have died, Yakeleya plans to honour Faye's memory by pushing for action regarding the disproportionate number of aboriginal residents affected by social problems and victimized by crime in the NWT.
"Although her death may not fall under the criteria of missing and murdered aboriginal females, the government of the Northwest Territories must do more to address violence against women in the aboriginal community," he said.
Faye's family and friends in Yellowknife gathered for a memorial for her last Friday afternoon at the McKenna Funeral Home in Yellowknife, ahead of today's funeral.
