Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in the House to advise you that respected elder Jessie May Snider passed away on February 28th, 2023. I would like to thank her family and brother for providing me with her Celebration of Life which I will share with you here today.
Jessie May Hardisty was born in a tent in Pehdzeh Ki, somewhere around Xahndah, on June 2nd, 1945 to Adeline and Edward Hardisty. Jessie was raised by Granny Jessie in Wrigley. As Jessie grew older, she went to residential school in Fort Simpson, Fort Providence, and Inuvik. Upon finishing school, Jessie went to work at Lapointe Hall as a kitchen helper. After working there for a while, she moved to Yellowknife where she met her love of her life Richard Snider. Sometime later, they moved to Calgary and as Robert said, "some of her kids had started to appear and they started to expand their family." They moved to another location to work BC and Manitoba and traveled across Canada. Jessie loved to see the country, its beauty, and other people.
Jessie did not like to live in the city, so the family moved to Fort Nelson, BC, to be with her sister Mabel. In 1980, they decided to move to Fort Liard. They stayed there until 1991 and then moved to Redknife. Living there helped her get back to her traditional lifestyle and, again, some more children somehow appeared. In 1997, they moved back to Fort Simpson and this where they remained and raised their family.
Jessie was so happy to move back to Fort Simpson because her brothers could provide her with moose meat. She loved her moose meat and berries that she would pick. As well, geese were on top of her menu when her son Darrell would bring it to her.
Mr. Speaker, Jessie's favorite pastime was to play bingo. As the story goes, she loved the number 10. Merle shared a story with Robert. One day she took her mother into town to get her bingo cards. As they were going back home, Jessie said, "Stop, I do not have B10 on my cards, so we have to go back and get a card with that number."
Mr. Speaker, Jessie was very successful at bingo. She won a couple of cars and several large jackpots. Besides her luck, she enjoyed connecting with friends and meeting them at these bingos and this was why she would travel the Deh Cho to attend bingos. She even attended a few bingo games in Las Vegas.
Mr. Speaker, all throughout her life she made many friends, and some were able to attend her funeral. The family would like to thank everyone who attended and those who sent best wishes. I can tell you her husband, children, siblings, extended family and friends will sadly miss her. Mashi cho.
Thank you, Member for Nahendeh. Our thought and prayers are with the family and community at this time.
