Liidlii Kue chief dies of meningitis
Family, community shocked by Minnie Letcher's sudden death
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Published Monday, November 10, 2014
LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
A prominent Deh Cho advocate for health and education has fallen silent.
Minnie Letcher, left, died of a meningitis infection Nov. 6. She was elected chief of the Liidlii Kue First Nation in a byelection on April 10, 2013. - NNSL file photo |
Minnie Letcher, the chief of the Liidlii Kue First Nation since 2013, died Nov. 6 at the age of 64 in an Edmonton hospital after contracting bacterial meningitis, said her son Loyal Letcher.
"It's just a shock," Loyal said Friday. "She had so many years ahead of her."
She had many family members in the community and was also known in the region after serving for years working with the local health authority.
Loyal described her as a loving mother and grandmother who had an open door policy, always willing to offer support to those in need.
There's been a somber mood in the village since residents learned she was ill, said Fort Simpson Mayor Sean Whelly, who said he knew her personally and from working with her as band chief.
"The band and the community, they've lost a strong leader who really did have the issues of her constituents at heart," Whelly said. "She was a very caring person."
Nahendeh MLA Kevin Menicoche said he'll remember Letcher as a leader focused on improving the well being of her community members who was always approachable and available.
Her death makes people re-evaluate life, Menicoche said.
"A death of this significance always makes people stop and wonder about their own lives," he said.
Born in the bush of the Deh Cho region, Letcher's family moved to Fort Simpson in the 1950s, said Loyal's wife Ria Letcher.
Letcher went east to improve her education. In the 1970s she earned her master's degree in social work from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia.
She did it "at a time when aboriginal women weren't really doing things like that," said her son.
He said he'll always remember how proud she was to graduate from the university.
She moved back north, putting her skills to use.
"She was so happy to be able to do that, to graduate and use her skills to help people," said Loyal.
He said she came back to Fort Simpson in the 1980s, spending about 30 years in government service.
She had recently retired from her position as the director of community programs and services for Dehcho Health and Social Services.
She saw turmoil in the Liidlii Kue First Nation and thought she could help, said her son.
In June 2012 she ran for chief, but lost.
Letcher ran because she believed she could help her community members, the mayor said.
"Certainly she could have retired and focused on her own family, but she had some strengths she wanted to share and fight inequities," Whelly said.
When a byelection was called only months after her initial loss, she was urged to run.
She was elected with 73 of the 252 votes cast on April 10, 2013, against eight other candidates.
Letcher told the Deh Cho Drum at the time that her position was less about politics than about helping people.
"I believe two-thirds is your people and one-third is politics," Letcher said.
"My role is really to pull the people together."
As chief, she was making major inroads with the band and had a lot of plans, Loyal said.
"Things were going well," he said.
One thing she wanted to achieve was to finalize the Dehcho land claims process,
Menicoche said.
After falling on ice in late October, Loyal said his mother was dealing with knee and back pain.
But then on Oct. 31, she fell asleep and wouldn't wake up. She was flown to Yellowknife before doctors sent her south to Edmonton for treatment.
She never did wake up, he said.
Meningitis, more common in children than adults, is swelling of the tissues around the brain and spinal cord.
How his mother contracted the infection isn't clear.
After she was taken to hospital, many of her family members were able to be with her over the last week of her life.
"The good thing is she wasn't in pain, she died peacefully with her family around her," Loyal said.
The family has heard from people across the country who knew his mother, Loyal said.
"There were so many prayers, but it wasn't enough," he said. "God wanted her."
Aside from Loyal, Letcher leaves behind a daughter, Tanya Letcher, and four grandchildren, Winona Rose Loyal Jr., Stanley and Jacob.
A memorial service is planned for sometime this week though the exact date was not known at press time.
