In Memory

In Memory: Lilie Patenaude

We are deeply saddened by the passing of our friend and fellow photographer, Lilie Patenaude. It’s going to be difficult to think of club meetings without her presence and her photography. She will be very much missed.
All of us will have our memories of Lilie.
I would like to share a few of mine that I will personally treasure. I’ve often thought how appropriate Lilie’s name is for her – a person who so keenly loved flowers. She spent endless hours kneeling with them, capturing their beauty
on film – not happy until she had the best composition possible. She relished this challenge.
One of her favourite places was VanDusen Gardens. It was not uncommon for her to take film in to Customcolor for processing, and then to shoot some more at VanDusen while she waited for it to be developed.
On a trip out to Minter Gardens to photograph the spring flower display, she could not pass a patch of daisies without remarking on them. Every group of flowers delighted her, whether they were wild ones by the side of the road or perfect, cultivated ones.
Lilie always knew where the best patches of wildflowers were in Burnaby. She told us one day of the hour she spent photographing flowers in a traffic island in the middle of a busy intersection, with traffic zooming around her…and suggested we check it out. But we weren’t quite that committed – or courageous. The absence of Lilie’s amazing
photographs will be a big hole in our club competitions. She was a perfectionist and could be counted on to score silver and gold awards. But the passion she had for photography has been a lasting inspiration for our club
members and all who knew her. At times when my interest was waning, her upbeat spirit reminded me how much fun taking pictures can be. As we remember her, that inspiration can stay with us.
I know of no one more constantly determined and focused than Lilie was in creating wonderful images. Her enthusiasm never waned. In fact, as her health failed more and more, her determination to keep going seemed to increase.
She squeezed out every bit of opportunity she had to express the beauty she saw around her - right to the end.
Her sister May told me of how she was in the hospital with her during the last few days, helping her to look through the slides from the trip they took together. At one point Lilie could no longer find the energy and smiled, saying,
“The fun was in the taking, anyways.” Those who were at Lilie’s memorial were told about a magnet she had on her fridge door. On it was written “yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery…today is a gift”.
And Lilie truly did take that
to heart. She lived each day to the full.

- Marja Bergen