Elisabeth Christina Salm: Nurturer. Church worker. Conservationist. Community builder. Born Jan. 21, 1959, in Hawkesbury, Ont.; died May 25, 2018; of injuries sustained during a sexual assault; aged 59.
The core values of service, radical inclusiveness, compassion and grace shine through all that Elisabeth did, and make the healing impact of her life unstoppable.
The second of five children, Elisabeth – nicknamed “Djies” – was born in Hawkesbury, Ont. Her parents were Dutch-Canadian, and her father worked in forestry conservation in Quebec. Like her parents, Djies loved the forest. In 1967, the family moved near Ottawa, close to the Rideau River.
Elisabeth Christina Salm.
After graduating in geology from Carleton University, Elisabeth worked in Northern Ontario, where she observed serious problems with resource extraction. Taking without giving was antithetical to her being. Leaving geology, she began applying more deeply the teachings of Christian Science to care for the environment. The religion teaches that creation is spiritual, good and to be lovingly cared for.
Elisabeth and Lyle met in church, and hiked in Brazil before marrying in 1990. While in Brazil, the couple were asked if they were siblings because of their physical resemblance. That resemblance was emblematic of their compatibility and especially their shared desire to serve others. They would go on to take many trips together, including paddling the Rideau from Ottawa to Kingston on their honeymoon.
The couple spoke Dutch, Spanish, French and English together regularly. Lyle’s favorite term of endearment for her was the Dutch hartendiefje – “little stealer of hearts.” Gezellig, a Dutch word meaning coziness, warmth and intimacy, epitomized their homes in both Ottawa and Boston over the years. They opened their home for many meetings about the environment, Indigenous issues, neighbourhood security and to Djies’s choir. Elisabeth and Lyle hosted many parties, too, especially for Canada Day and Dutch Sinterklaas celebrations. Various family members lived with them, in one case, for four years.
Djies minimized waste and water use. Ahead of her time, she promoted a recycling program in Thunder Bay in the 1980s. In 1991, she and Lyle made cycling their main mode of transportation. Recently she was one of the organizers of all-candidates debates on the Energy East pipeline.
Djies served on two Syrian refugee sponsorship teams. In March, 2018, she learned that one Syrian family would arrive before the couple returned from a trip to Japan. From their niece’s one-room apartment in Tokyo, on a tatami mat, under covers to not disturb others, she stayed up many nights e-mailing family and neighbours to prepare their house to receive the newcomers. Typical Djies: a personal, selfless, “undercover” response to one of humanity’s great crises.
On May 24, 2018, while working in downtown Ottawa at the Christian Science Reading Room – her church’s open door to the community – Elisabeth was attacked and sexually assaulted. She succumbed to her injuries the following day. Elisabeth metaphorically and literally gave her life to God and the community.
Rather than focusing on how Djies died, the Salm and Young families will remember her incredible love and how she lived. As a way of furthering her work, they have established the Elisabeth Christina Salm Fund at the Ottawa Community Foundation.
Lyle Young is Elisabeth’s husband.
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