Family and friends gathered Sunday to remember 38 year-old Twyla Roscovich, who died last month.
Twyla Roscovich was admired and loved, and on Sunday, a Campbell River hall was filled with those who knew her to share stories about the woman who is being remembered as powerful, unique and inspiring.
“Yeah it fills me with pride, I’m really, really proud of her and yeah these people are a reflection of who she is.” said her stepsister Leni Goggins.
“Yeah I’m riding on an ocean of love here you know is how I feel, so that’s what’s keeping me afloat.” said her father Glen Roscovich.
Twyla took a one-week film course when she was 17 and never looked back. She became a well-known and respected filmmaker with her focus being environmental causes.
“You know, some people are calling her a warrior, well she just considered herself a girl with a camera,” added Roscovich.
She met, worked with and became neighbours with Alexandra Morton.
“A very gentle and thoughtful and kind friend and you know if you look around the room it’s really a who’s who of the environmental movement here,” said Morton. “She connected us all together and she always delivered very powerful messages but always with a kind and very feminine voice.”
Twyla went missing in early September and was found deceased on Sept 15. She had taken her own life and on Sunday her stepsister used to opportunity to talk about mental illness.
“Yeah, she struggled and it’s a really tough thing,” said Goggins. “Mental illness is still not yet an acceptable health condition and it’s not recognizable and it’s not treated with the urgency that physical health conditions are treated with and it’s a really tough long road and I think she just didn’t want to be on that road.”
A scholarship has been set up in Twyla’s name to help others go to film school.
You can find information on that here.
Dean Stoltz
