REMEMBERING ROWENA ON YOUTUBE AND IN MY ROSE GARDEN

Rowena's Memorial Tribute Video is still my most watched Youtube creation at over 1460 views.  It may not seem like much in the world of Youtube, but for me, it is huge.  And I have "the Redhead from the Rock" to thank for that.  Rowena passed away from cancer in 2017.  

Rowena was the lead singer of my husband's band "Sounds Familiar.  She hailed from Newfoundland and came to the group offering one of the most incredible voices.  My husband's 80s/90s cover band had already made appearances around local  drinking establishments when we first got together back in 2008.  It was just four guys and their music equipment back then.  When Rowena showed up, her presence elevated their performance by leaps and bounds.  She brought an amazing depth and beauty to their music and group.  

As you can see in the video, they still did the pub circuit on numerous occasions, but they also had appearances at Spruce Grove's Canada Day Celebration in 2010, Athabasca's River Rat's Music Festival also in 2010 and finishing up their run at the first Edmonton RockFest in August of 2011.  I came along for the ride on many of those events as an amateur photographer.  So most of the photos in this video are mine.  

Photo videos are one of my favourite creative ways to memorialize people I love.  This time I got to capture not only faces, but the whole itinerary.  This video is a snapshot of their time together.  I am the most proud of this one, not just because it garnered so many hits on Youtube, but because of the story I was able to tell.  The song on the video came from the demo collection that Manfred arranged, featuring Rowena's beautiful voice and my husband's guitar prowess as well.  

I wanted to honour Rowena in my garden, so that year I picked up a red rose bush.  It's deep crimson blooms have been giving us joy and comfort for the last five years.  This year, it shot up to over five feet and has spread itself as much as it has space to do so.  My Rowena Rose has made it into a lot of bouquets this summer bringing added joy to others.  

I have planted other rose bushes in my garden and named them for deceased loved ones, but most of those names escape me.  But that red rose will always be Rowena to us.  Her unique colour in my garden stands out and her vibrant blossoms are now towering over the rest of the bushes.  

Honouring Rowena was always more about helping my husband with his grief and loss.  Personally, I didn't know Rowena that well, but my efforts continue to provide a healing space for my husband as he remembers his bandmate and friend.  

"Grief is never something you get over. You don't wake up one morning and say, 'I've conquered that; now I'm moving on.' It's something that walks beside you every day. And if you can learn how to manage it and honour the person that you miss, you can take something that is incredibly sad and have some form of positivity."  Terri Irwin