Teacher, infant in downed plane
A high school teacher with a passion for helping the vulnerable and an infant en route to meet her grandfather in Kenya for the first time were the latest Canadians confirmed as victims of a plane crash in Ethiopia.
The grieving families of the 18 Canadians who died when the Ethiopian Airlines jetliner went down on Sunday, killing all 157 on board, are still struggling to come to terms with what happened.
Quindos Karanja said he had been looking forward to meeting his nine-month-old granddaughter Rubi Pauls — believed to be the youngest Canadian victim — when he learned of the tragedy, which also claimed the lives of his wife, daughter and two other grandchildren.
“It’s just hard to accept that this has happened,” he said by telephone from Kenya on Tuesday. “I feel so much loss. And pain. I’m lonely.”
Rubi was the only Canadian citizen in the family. Her 34-year-old mother, a Kenyan who had applied for permanent residence, had told Karanja of a sense of fear she felt ahead of the trip.
“She didn’t know why she had that bad feeling ... that was my final talk with her,” he said.
Shock was also settling in for a Hamilton-area family, who confirmed Tuesday that a special education teacher who often volunteered with underprivileged children was among those killed in the crash.
Cody French said his mother, Dawn Tanner, was on her way to visit friends in Kenya. He said Tanner, who worked at a school with the Grand Erie District School Board, had previously done community work in small villages to help “homeless and vulnerable children.”
“Mom, I can’t begin to explain how much I miss you and how different life will be without your beautiful laugh and your tight hugs,” French wrote in a Facebook post also penned on behalf of his brother. “I just want you to know that both Hunter and I are so proud of you, for helping out the vulnerable and for pursuing your dreams.”
The Grand Erie board said Tanner had worked at Hagersville Secondary School since 2005. It said she also volunteered a couple of nights a week at a homework support centre for Indigenous students.
Many of the other Canadian victims came from the ranks of humanitarian and aid workers.