Family and friends crowded Pemberton Secondary School on Saturday, Oct. 14 to honour the life and memory of Liam Fisher. The 34-year-old accomplished athlete was found dead on Wednesday, Sept. 13, after going missing during a fun run in Grenada, where he was studying medicine at St. George’s University.
The entire gymnasium was full to the brim, with people standing at the back and in the corridor. Speakers remarked that the large crowd reflected the impact the young man—who was determined to be remembered for all the right reasons—had on the world.
“When I think of Liam, one word always sticks with me: impact,” said Fisher’s friend and former colleague, Janick Susanthan.
“He was always learning, always adapting. Liam always had an athlete’s perspective. One training or conversation from him could impact the rest of your life. He brought out the best in so many people. He believed that moment was for everybody.
“We lost a light but he will shine on in every one of us.”
Liam’s father Hugh thanked the people of Pemberton for their support over the last few weeks. “It seems so improbable and impossible what has happened,” he said. “I stood down the road at the Celebration of Life for our daughter Riva. I remember saying that it takes a community to raise a child. It takes a community to say goodbye to a child. It got me thinking about the nature of this community. Liam was part of so many communities. He kept in touch with all of those communities.”
Liam and his sister Riva were incredibly close, and her death from brain cancer in 2017 motivated him to put as much time as he could into incredible fundraising efforts.
“They loved each other,” his mother Hillary said in a previous interview with Pique. “They were that brother and sister that used to fight all the time, but they stood up for each other whenever they could.”
Liam’s school community was also incredibly important to him, and it set him up for countless adventures down the line.
“I am incredibly grateful that Liam went to a school where half the kids are from Lil’wat Nation and half the kids are from here in the valley,” Hugh said. “It made him so adept to be able to negotiate his way through Maori culture in New Zealand and through aboriginal culture in Australia.”
Hugh said Liam’s friends from all over the world have reached out.
“We were astonished to see how many people he had impacted in Grenada,” he said. “He was helping the dean of the school with strength training. Who gets to beat up the dean of their medical school? He sent so many fellow students in the right direction.”
Hugh and Hillary said their son was the most content he had ever been while living on his sail boat in Grenada.
“He was the happiest we had seen him,” said Hugh. “He had come through COVID and through the death of his sister. He was just a happy guy. He scored super well in his first mid-term. It was around that time that he started looking at optional modules he could take. He decided he wanted to pursue the wilderness medicine option.
“This was Liam at his happiest, his smartest and his strongest.”
The instructor of wilderness medicine at St. George’s University asked Liam to supply a short bio and explain why he should get into the competitive program.
His father remarked it’s not often people write their own eulogy before he read the passionate letter aloud.
In it, Liam spoke about his love of the sea, the mountains, and most importantly of all, his love of adventure. He also spoke of how inspired he was by his sister, who faced her illness with “unwavering positivity and strength.”
The “kind” medicine student mentioned he was looking forward to participating in the upcoming Grenada Hash House Harriers run. “Life is challenging by my choice and I do it all with a smile on my face,” he wrote. “P.S. Apologies for the lengthiness. It’s a bit of a story.”
The memorial concluded with a moving video of Liam’s life featuring his many adventures and friends as a “a child of the Sea to Sky."
Memorial donations in Liam's name can be made to donate.sunnybrook.ca/gord and cmha.ca/how-you-can-help/donate.
