REMEMBERING THE VICTIMS

Loved ones share heartfelt tributes to those slain in Nova Scotia shooting //

PORTAPIQUE, N.S.—The victims in one of Canada’s worst mass killings include an RCMP officer, a teacher, two nurses, neighbours of the shooter and two correctional officers killed in their home.

Here is a look at some of the lives lost: Corrie Ellison

Ellison, 42, was remembered Monday as a thoughtful, kind friend who went out of his way to help others.

“He’s the type of person that I don’t think anybody would want to see that happen to him,” his father Richard Ellison says.

Corrie Ellison lived in Truro, N.S., but was visiting his father in Portapique when he was killed. Richard Ellison declined to comment on how his son died.

Ashley Fennell says she was good friends with Corrie Ellison for almost a decade. She describes him as “a beautiful soul.”

Corrie Ellison was on disability support because of an old injury. He had no children of his own but he loved kids, Fennell says.

Sean McLeod and Alanna Jenkins

The Wentworth, N.S., couple were correctional officers.

McLeod’s daughter, Taylor McLeod, said Jenkins worked at the Nova Institution for Women in Truro and McLeod worked at the Springhill Institution for more than 20 years.

McLeod’s daughter said the couple deeply loved and cared for her, her little sister and Taylor’s daughter.

“They would have done anything for anybody and they always made sure people were welcome in their home.”

Heather O’Brien

The Victorian Order of Nurses said O’Brien was a licensed practical nurse and had worked with VON for nearly 17 years.

O’Brien’s daughter, Darcy Dobson, posted on Facebook about her mother.

“She was kind. She was beautiful. She didn’t deserve any of this,” Dobson wrote, pleading with friends and family not to let the shooting define her mother.

“I want everyone to remember how kind she was. How much she loved being a nurse,” she wrote.

“The way her eyes sparkled when she talked to her grandchildren and the way she just loved Christmas. Let those things define her. Not the horrible way she died.”

Gina Goulet

Goulet, a 54-year-old Shubenacadie, N.S., resident, beat cancer — twice.

Her daughter, Amelia Butler, said Goulet was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2016. Goulet was warned that her prospects didn’t look good, but she beat the odds.

Goulet was diagnosed with cancer a second time late last year, and had almost fully recovered when she died.

Goulet was a denturist for 27 years. Butler couldn’t say whether her mother encountered the shooter, who worked in the same field.

Kristen Beaton

The Victorian Order of Nurses confirmed that Beaton had worked for the organization for six years.

“Kristen began work with VON nearly six years ago and ... was a caring and compassionate member of the VON team.”

Lisa McCully

McCully was a teacher at the elementary school in the community of Debert, N.S.

Paul Wozney, president of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union (NSTU), said McCully was known as a passionate teacher and “as a shining love” in the lives of her friends and family.

Const. Heidi Stevenson Stevenson had been with the RCMP for 23 years and was a mother of two.

“Heidi answered the call of duty and lost her life while protecting those she served,” Nova Scotia RCMP Assistant Commissioner Lee Bergerman said in a statement.

“Two children have lost their mother and a husband his wife. Parents lost their daughter and countless others lost an incredible friend and colleague.

“There are no words to describe their pain.”

The NSTU said Stevenson’s husband, Dean Stevenson, teaches at Cole Harbour District High School.