VICTORIA — The household and pals of Canadian teenager Piper James who died in Australia final month remembered her as “curious, daring and alive to the world” throughout a celebration of life held Saturday in Campbell River, B.C. on Vancouver Island.
The 19-year-old was engaged on Okay’gari, previously often called Fraser Island, when she went for an early morning swim on Jan. 19. Her physique was discovered a short while later surrounded by a pack of dingoes close to a well-liked vacationer web site, the SS Maheno wreck.
An post-mortem uncovered proof of “pre-mortem” dingo bites however stated drowning was the most definitely explanation for Piper’s demise.
Piper’s dad and mom delivered the eulogy throughout a service held at Campbell River Baptist Church and mom Angela James says that the ache of lacking her “doodlebug” and “candy, candy lady” is one thing that she carries together with her on daily basis.
“Some moments, it’s quiet,” she stated, as she stood subsequent to her husband, each visibly preventing to carry again tears. “Others, it takes my breath away, however woven by way of the ache is gratitude — gratitude that I acquired to be your mother, that I acquired to like you, that the world acquired to know, even for such a short while. You modified me without end. You modified everybody who beloved you.”
Piper James rode motocross bikes and her father, Todd James, says that Piper took him and his spouse on the trip of their lives, as he thanked his daughter for her love and for being their daughter.
“A few of my most memorable occasions can be mendacity in mattress with you, and Piper would are available, like simply weeks earlier than she left for Australia, and we might simply wrestle collectively til it drove you nuts, get the canines barking,” he stated. “I beloved that with you, Piper — I’m going to overlook that.”
Todd James stated he has been taught to by no means say goodbye, ending his a part of the eulogy, with a easy “’til we meet once more.’”
Taylor Stricker, who travelled with Piper James to Australia, stated her buddy lived with depth and coronary heart, and beloved fiercely. “She taught me easy methods to be courageous and to lean into life as an alternative of simply standing on the perimeters of it,” Stricker stated.
Whereas Piper’s time “was far too quick,” her influence will final without end, Stricker stated.
“She is going to reside on each highway that requires journey, each music turned up too loud, each wave that rolls in, and each second I select to be fearless due to her, I’ll carry her with me for the remainder of my life.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Feb. 28, 2026.
Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press