Northern Magic

smcniven — Sat, 15 Mar 2003 18:42:09 -0800

Diane Stuemer , an Ottawa area entrepreneur, and her husband reevaluated their priorities in the early 90's after Diane was diagnosed with malignant melanoma and her husband had a work related accident. After her cancer went into remission, and fearful that her 3 children would grow up without remembering her, the family took the bold decision to pack up everything and circumnavigate the world. Despite having less than 4 days of sailing experience, the family took to the seas with great enthusiasm.

The Northern Magic became the Steumer's home for 4 years as they travelled around the world. During that time Diane wrote a series of weekly dispatches to the readers of her hometown's newspaper. It became a tradition in many Ottawa households to read Diane's column in the saturday paper while dreaming of the exotic locals she was writing about (a sharp contrast from Ottawa's winters).

In those 4 years, readers got to experience Herbert (the husband) become a master mechanic, Diane adapt to life afloat, and the 3 sons grow up. When the Stuemers finally arrived home in Ottawa in August of 2001 they where greeted by thousands of well-wishers.

Sadly, Ottawa residents learned early in February that Diane had been readmitted to hospital where she was fighting a very aggressive melanoma battle. Today, Diane succumbed to her illness and passed away.

During their voyage, the entire family took on several projects in the countries they visited which are still active today. What amazes me about Diane is the experiences she lived through with her children, the memories they will cherish and the lasting effect their travels will have on the people they met.

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Northern Magic