Submitted by Linda Mikolayenko
on behalf of the La Ronge Wild Rice Writers Group
The Wild Rice Writers Group hosted a Literary Extravaganza on April 22, 2023 to celebrate its 30th anniversary. As a member of the group, Valerie was one of the readers for the occasion. She chose to read from two of her Valerie’s Voice newspaper columns, and prefaced her reading by saying that writing a column was an honour and a responsibility.
In her final column for The Northerner newspaper, she said that her role as a reporter allowed her “to be involved in the ebb and flow of the community” and that she did many things she “wouldn’t have dreamed of doing had it not been for The Northerner.”
“There is nothing that really replaces a newspaper,” she said, and so it was no surprise when she took advantage of the opportunity to contribute to The Northern Advocate. It was also no surprise that a photo and article about the Literary Extravaganza appeared with her byline in the May 2023 issue. Thank you, Val, for always sharing our news with the community.
One of our writers group’s former members, Monika Dutt, MD, shares this reflection:
I lived in La Ronge from 2008-2010 and interacted with Val often. I remember doing media interviews with her and the way she took notes by hand as we spoke. It made the interviews longer, but meant that every word was carefully recorded, giving them weight and importance.
Even after leaving La Ronge, we stayed in touch. In particular, she sent me many words of encouragement when my son had a chronic illness. I shared his story on social media, and Val constantly responded with encouragement and kindness. As he recovered, she cheered him on with such enthusiasm — I loved the way she was invested in our journey, just as she was part of so many peoples’ lives.
I miss her joy and kindness and was saddened to hear of her death. Thank-you for the light you brought to the world Val.
