A strong community voice has gone silent.
Kristi Dobson, who loved nothing better than building up her community through philanthropy, volunteering with numerous organizations, and cheerfulness, died in her sleep on Monday, July 10, 2017. She was 43.
“Kristi is so well known in the community,” said her mother, Diane Dobson. Kristi graduated from Alberni District Secondary School in 1992; Port Alberni has always been her home, and she was proud of that.
Kristi ran or walked in the Terry Fox Run every year, and in 2016 was recognized by the Terry Fox Foundation for 35 years of participation.
“The Terry Fox Foundation is one of her biggies,” Diane said.
Kristi was involved in numerous fundraisers for the Canadian Cancer Society, most notably organizing the Relay for Life starting in 2005 and running for several years.
She was a staunch supporter of the Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock, often running or riding her bicycle down from the top of the Hump to support the riders as they came into town, and organizing fundraisers and other events.
She participated in the Kiwanis Cycles Kilometres for Diabetes in 2011, conquering the Malahat Summit with her teammates.
Once news of her death hit social media, the posts began to fly: “She was such an incredible human.” “She was such a fixture in the community.” “My heart is aching at the devastating loss of one of the kindest champions for people and animals alike.” “She made a difference, and she was loved.” “She was a role model for kindness, a good listener, and just a lovely soul.”
“Am so deeply sorry to hear about the passing of one of Port Alberni’s most incredible community champions,” wrote Kama Money, who met Kristi when she was 14 on an overseas trip to Abashiri, Japan, and remained in contact with her through adulthood. Money was part of the “Heart of Vancouver Island” campaign, a philosophy that Kristi quickly embraced.
“The community has lost someone who was so dedicated to it. Very sad news tonight to hear of the passing of Kristi Dobson,” wrote Charles Mealey, former Port Alberni city councillor and announcer at the Alberni Valley Bulldogs’ hockey games.
Mealey also spent time with Kristi on the Port Alberni Twinning Society, which remained one of her lifelong passions. Kristi maintained ties to the country through the society, long after she made the trip to Abashiri as a teenage member of one of the twinning delegations.
“May your spirit always run like the wind on the trails we loved so much in nature,” said former Port Alberni resident Jessica Bleasdale—Kristi’s running partner and frequent outdoor adventure buddy before moving with her young family to the Maritimes.
“She loved the outdoors,” said Diane Dobson. The two were close, and walked Kitsuksis Dyke together almost every day. It was their time to chat, and catch up on their lives.
Kristi could be seen either riding her bicycle or walking daily around the Alberni Valley. She was a familiar face on hiking and biking trails around town, and it wasn’t unusual to find her at the top of a mountain peak—Mt. Apps, Mt. Arrowsmith, even the Lookout—as she loved the views.
We are feeling Kristi’s loss here at the Alberni Valley News, too.
Kristi switched back and forth between the AV Times and Alberni Valley News, working for both as a graphic designer (also with Houle Printing) and writer/ photographer. Her strength lay in telling the city’s stories—its triumphs without gushing, its trials without being too maudlin. When the AV Times closed two years ago, she started freelancing regularly for us at the Alberni Valley News, writing up to half a dozen stories per month. She always had a unique perspective on the community, and knew so many people.
Not content with just freelancing, she also started a blog at Alberni.ca called Valley Heartbeat, where she profiled some of those people she knew, as well as those she had just met. She started her own business, Red Ink Solutions, where she offered writing, editing, multi-media and graphic design services. She wrote memoirs for people, compiling childhood and family memories for them. She called herself an “accidental editor”.
Kristi was creative, and that side of her was evident in her writing, graphic design—and artwork. Her talent for painting is immortalized at Echo Pool, where she painted one of the Pool Mural Project panels.
She created handmade cards, loved creating pallet signs, and according to one friend, was busy upcycling furniture too. In July 2014, she and close friend Cara Baldwin held a joint photography exhibition at the Rollin Art Centre, and Kristi’s love of nature was evident.
Her penchant for art was a focus as recently as this past weekend, when she told her mother she intended to paint the craft room in the house she bought in South Port—her “SoPo” neighbourhood—10 months ago.
“She said she was going to paint her craft room this weekend, and she was going to paint each wall a different colour,” Diane said.
Siobhan Burns worked with Dobson for many years at the AV Times, both as a colleague and as her editor. “Kristi shared some of Port Alberni’s most difficult stories, as well as some of its happiest ones over her years of working at the Valley’s newspapers. It is with great sadness that today the roles are reversed and the story is about her,” Burns wrote in an e-mail from Rock Creek, B.C., where she now lives.
“Kristi was a gift to anyone that had the pleasure of knowing her. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to work with her for many years and to get to know the beautiful person she was. Her talents will forever be appreciated by the many lives she touched through her words and artwork in the Alberni Valley.“
We will miss her stories. We will miss her indomitable attitude when it came to finding the good in her community. She made a difference in everyone’s lives.
We will miss her friendship.
Dobson is survived by her parents, Diane and Pete; her brother Shawn, his wife Tisha, nephews Tyler and Connor; numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.
The Dobsons will hold a celebration of life for Kristi in the coming weeks: information will be included in the Tuesday, July 18 issue of the Alberni Valley News.
