Discussion: Marie-Cat

Apparently there was a note on Facebook that Marie-Catherine Bruno died last week. I don't have any further information.

What tragic news. Any info on where to send condolences or memories?

shocking news. so sad.

Devastating. I've been googling over the past week but haven't seen a death notice with information on how to send condolences or make a donation. I hope someone will share that here at some point. I imagine it came as such a shock that her family and partner did not have an immediate idea of what plans to make.

So so sad. What a vibrant person.

It's been really sad to lose Marie-Cat. Some 2nd hand details ... She was at a wedding in Ontario with her partner Simon. She apparently mentioned having a headache, then shortly later collapsed. As far as I know, she never regained consciousness and passed away from a brain aneurysm a few days later.

There was a tribute to her at the BC Orienteering Championships this past weekend. She was a wonderful part of our orienteering community for many years and an important and particularly vibrant member of our club. She will be missed.

Thanks for the details Brian.

I never actual knew her but certainly knew of her. I've only ever heard good things. Always sad to lose someone so important to the community like this.

For a long time now, Marie-Cat has been, to me, the SAB. Every time I'd talk to her and say "hey, how are you doing, you SAB", her eyes would light up and big grin would go across her face and we would laugh about old times. Some 20+ years ago, we were orienteering in New England and she had caught and then passed an American friend of ours (who will go nameless here) out in the forest. He, with some degree of enthusiasm, yells out ... "Hey, you can't pass me you Skinny Ass Bitch!" Anyway, Marie-Cat took it all in stride, thinking this was all pretty funny. She enjoyed the attention and had a great sense of humour. I'll really miss that.

My guess is JJ?

Sounds like Mark Dominie to me.

For anyone who didn't know Marie-Cat, there's a short bio on the webpages of her orthotics practice in Vernon, B.C. ("The Sole Mate")

I got to share a week with her and a group of friends in a house at Lake Tahoe for the Ski-O World Cups back in 2012. It was a very enjoyable trip - my only regret being that it was the last time I saw her. I dug up the pics last night. Here are a few memorable ones. Unfortunately I didn't get any of the great faces she liked to make. She was very expressive.

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Yes, Canadian Girls do Kick Ass! Also found this one on the Sole Mate Facebook pages that made me laugh:

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Marie-Cat had an awesome sense of humor and would dish out just as much as she would get. To me she was Plastic Wonder (a Barbie joke) and she would in turn always refer to me as Captain Bellini. RIP Plastic Wonder.

Marie-Cat always made me smile. She was a sunshine and such a nice person. As a junior she really motivated me to be a good, positive person and athlete. She made orienteering cool! I am so sad to hear this news and to think that she will never be there again at the next orienteering race in North America that I might make it to. She will be missed, that is for sure!

I got to know Marie-Cat in the 90s when the grass was green and the sun was shining. She injected a delicious absurdity into everything. She could dish it out and take a ribbing, and fling it back all over you. An infectious vivaciousness and a soul that was pure gold. She was our Québécoise posse-mate. She would have made the Rat Pack cool. She was live electricity. A super nova in a dark room.

SAB really isn't my style, but she was that. She could be whatever she wanted to be. She was all heart.

Early in my orienteering days, I was chatting with Marie-Cat after a race and rhyming off my errors, as one does. She said, "That's useful but after each race, you also need to identify the things you did right. Those are the things you want to remember and repeat."

That was excellent advice that I've used myself and shared with others for more than a decade. I'm also grateful for the heart-to-heart emails when we both lost our Dads around the same time.

Pretty sure it wasn't me who called her a SAB. I did toss a good- natured insult her way once, but it was sort of a French language joke that's a little hard to explain.

I loved skiing with Marie-Cat, as Eddie's photo above shows. We skied together for an afternoon at Silver Star last December, and I was looking forward to a repeat this year. So horrible to steal away such a great person.

Didn't know Marie-Cat...

But now wish I did. :-(

I had forgotten about a mischievous prank Marie-Cat roped me into at the OUSA convention in 2010. A number of orienteers were camping together at Riverside Park in Spokane. One evening we were sitting around chatting about the day's race. Some boasts were tossed around. I was up late at the picnic table working on a PowerPoint presentation for the convention the next day. I can't remember if I caught her in the act herself or if she convinced me to do this, but somehow a few subliminal "bonus" slides were added to the presentation. I went along with it and they were shown at the convention.

I dug up the old presentation last night. Scan through the original for full effect, or cut to the chase with the abridged version:

lidar_for_basemaps.pdf
lidar_for_basemaps_abridged.pdf

(apologies to Joe :)

That's great. I was hoping there'd be some compromising pictures of Joe, but that is good enough.

Awesome! :)

I completely forgot about that. I still can hear her voice (saying those words) and see her smile. I will miss her.

Hah! Awesome. Thanks, eddie.

Thanks eddie. Remember that 'Only the Good Die Young....'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMdOsk3fVAE

Only met Marie-Cat a couple of times and a few years apart (Japan in '05 and Australia ..actually not sure when). But it probably says a lot about her that the second time was like catching up with an old friend. It's a sad thought that there won't be a 3rd time...

Knew Marie-Cat when we were in GVOC, a lovely lady and always fun to be around.

A very sad loss to the world

Candie loves and will miss Barbie :-(

I was shocked by the news about Mari Cat's death. I could not believe that some one so vibrant was taken early. I knew her well, not just through orientering but she lived in Whistler for a while and was my physiotherapist and then kept me running with her pedorthic skills. She also coached me one year, which led to my best ever results. Unfortunately I cannot remember the date. I did not see her as much after she moved to Vernon but loved to follow her escapes on Facebook. Like everyone else who knew her I will miss her greatly.

No words to cover it - but thanks to all who have posted. Community matters at times like this.

Once, at a Harriman training camp I was sitting in my car listening to an obscure track from the Industrial Music band FRONT 242. Marie-Cat come up to me smiling and says Front 242! Industrial music listening orienteers are the coolest!

Mark Dominie's name for Marie-Cat was Skinny Ass Bitch. Marie-Cat's name for Mark was Fat Bastard. In one race, I was slowly closing on Mark and Marie-Cat was off to my right. She calls out, "Go get him, Jeff!" More to needle Mark than to offer me encouragement. Mark growled something unintelligible. Mark told us after the race what he said. "He doesn't need any help you Skinny Ass Bitch!" In another race, Mark mentioned seeing Marie-Cat step on some branches Bink. She barely made a dent. Mark steps on the same spot. CRASH!! Post hole up to his thigh.

November 3 is the tentative date for her memorial in Vernon. Check The Sole Mate on Facebook for confirmation.

Marie-Cat's funeral:

Saturday October 27 at 10am.
Eglise Bon Pasteur
400, Rue Laurier, Laval, Quebec

Thanks for the info, and if anybody remembers the Relay in Colorado the team Blue Moon Express, it was a classic!

Details re Marie-Cat's celebration of life at SilverStar on Nov 3rd are here.
Please consider making a donation to the legacy fund that her partner Simon has set up. Donations are welcome here.