Laurie Marlene Friskie, December 20, 1957 –  August 28, 2026

After a short illness, Laurie Friskie passed away on August 28 at the age of 68. Laurie is survived by her husband Staffan, sons Mitchell (Shay), and Jordan (Sydney), sister Karen (Mike), brother Steve, nieces Viki (Lauren), and Julie, and nephew Gavin. Laurie is greatly missed by her family, to whom she was the best mother, wife, sister, and aunt that anyone could possibly hope for. Born in New Westminster, BC., she grew up in Port Coquitlam, where she attended high school. She graduated with a BSc in Biology from Simon Fraser University in 1981. She worked in several entomology and forestry-related positions with the Pacific Forest Research Centre, the BC Forest Service, Simon Fraser University, and University of BC until 1988. Laurie got married in December 1985. From 1989 to 1992, she stayed at home to raise her sons. In 1993 she accompanied her husband to Sweden for 6 months, and in July 1994, the family moved to Prince George, where they remained until 2015 when Staffan retired from his position as Professor at UNBC. In 1997 – 1998 she worked at the College of New Caledonia, but from mid-1998 she was Academic Advisor at UNBC until 2015. She then accepted a position as Rural Nursing Program Advisor at Vancouver Island University (VIU) in Nanaimo until her retirement in 2020. After her retirement she volunteered in climate change environmental activism and the Green Party. Laurie enjoyed many activities, but especially gardening and outdoor activities like kayaking. She was artistic and was highly valued as a hard and efficient worker. At UNBC, she was nominated twice and awarded once for the President’s Award for Service Excellence. As an advisor in Natural Resources Management both students and faculty loved her diligence and commitment to student success. Many students credited her with making it possible for them to graduate. In the many thank-you messages she received from students they described her as “awesome, amazing, wonderful”, and as the “best advisor”. Her colleagues remember her as a hard worker, who was cheerful, kind and always smiling. The Nanaimo Climate Action Hub, a group she was heavily engaged in, is honouring Laurie by renaming their climate champion award the The Laurie Friskie Climate Champion Award. A Celebration of Life event will be held at the Unitarian Fellowship, 595 Townsite Rd., Nanaimo, October 10, at 2:30 pm. In lieu of flowers, please support climate action by donating to an organization of your choice.

• Date : 2026-08-28
• Location : Nanaimo, BC