Sad news day

At the Mission? I had no idea. The Ottawa Citizen explains it better than the other paper, but this bit is from the Ottawa Sun:

Normee Ekoomiak, a Inuk man who left the shores of James Bay and became a renowned artist, author and later an addict, amputee and homeless man in Ottawa, died Monday. He was 61.

Ekoomiak had both legs and eight fingers amputated two years ago and was a far cry from the man that produced two paintings that are in the National Gallery.

From an early age, Ekoomiak showed he had a knack with a sewing needle. He'd soon move on from stitching garments and boots to more elaborate embroidery before turning to painting. The Canadian government hired him to be artist-in-residence at world exposition pavilions. Macmillan Canada published two of his books. But he hit the bottle hard and was living on the streets by the early 1990s.

Earlier this month, he talked with Sun freelance writer Ron Corbett at the Ottawa Mission. Corbett wrote: "He was a polite host the day I visited, although his room was spartan. There was nothing of a personal nature anywhere to be seen."

"I gave it all away," Ekoomiak said. "I did not want to have it around anymore."

There will be a service at the Mission on Friday starting at 1 p.m.