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NNSL Photo

Penny Ballantyne shows the sign that was vandalized at the future site of the "garden of hope." - Darren Stewart/NNSL photo

Defaced memorial saddens family

Respected lawyer's legacy tarnished by vandals

Darren Stewart
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (May 07/03) - Penny Ballantyne wonders if anything is still considered sacred.

Vandals defaced a memorial to respected lawyer Loraine Minish-Cooper with black paint last week.

Minish-Cooper died of breast cancer last summer and the memorial marked the future spot near city hall where a garden would be planted in her honour.

Ballantyne, a long-time friend of Minish-Cooper's, said she is very upset by the vandalism.

"The irony is that we had just planned to meet to discuss planting the garden," she said.

"This incident raises the concern in my mind whether the garden will be safe from future vandalism, whether it will be respected or whether people will have no qualms with destroying it."

Ballantyne removed the sign, which was designed and painted by a local artist last year.

"This wouldn't have concerned Loraine," she said. "She would have been more concerned about the kids who did it -- where they were at in their life."

Don Cooper, Minish-Cooper's husband, said he's saddened by the incident but remains undeterred in his plans to establish the garden memorial.

"You wish these things didn't happen, you assume it was just a young person who just didn't think about it," he said. "I'm willing to go forward with the garden and pretend it never happened."

The "garden of hope" will serve as a legacy to Minish-Cooper's life and passion for gardening.

It is intended to symbolize the hope that a cure for breast cancer will be found some day.

The Yellowknife Community Foundation set up a memorial fund to administer the garden.

Minish-Cooper, a devoted mother and respected community member, died last Aug. 15 after a four-year battle with breast cancer. More than 600 people attended her memorial service.