Jennifer Logan, the Saskatoon woman who died after drinking tea while visiting Peru, was laid to rest Saturday in her hometown. As Aaron Streck reports, the avid adventurer saw a lot of the world while touching the lives of many.
SASKATOON – Family and friends gathered Saturday afternoon at the Emmanuel Anglican Church and the Refinery Arts and Spirit Centre in Saskatoon to celebrate the life of Jennifer Logan. The 32-year-old woman died Jan. 17 after having an apparent reaction to tobacco tea while in Peru.
“Very tragic, she’s just beginning her life,” said family friend Barbara Schindel. “Even though it sounds like she lived a real good life – all the places she travelled – but when you lose a child I just think there’s nothing worse, you live with that until your days are gone.”
Logan drank the tea while participating in a cleansing ceremony – it’s supposed to induce vomiting. But while others stopped, she did not; Logan was reportedly convulsing and unconscious. The shaman and others tried to revive her but she was pronounced dead in hospital.
“She was very careful, she looked into everything before going anywhere or doing anything, so I don’t think that she would have known beforehand of any possible problems,” said friend Martin Zatowkaniuk.
READ MORE: Questions and answers about the Canadian death in Peru
Those close to the avid traveller reflect on the kind of person she was. According to Logan’s obituary, “Jennifer’s mantra was, ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.’”
“Jen was really a person who thought about others before herself, she had worked with women and children who had been trafficked sex workers in Nepal, she had volunteered there, she had worked in Saudi Arabia, she wanted to specifically work with women to empower them, to teach them English and this was the kind of person that she was and I hope that’s how she’ll be remembered,” said Zatowkaniuk.
The avid explorer’s obituary says “her home was the world itself but her favourite place was her parents’ house in Saskatoon. The hearts she’s touched are shattered but her loved ones are all better people for having known her.”
“It’s a huge loss,” said Zatowkaniuk.
“The meaning of life is to give life meaning,” was the quote Jennifer Logan chose in her Grade 12 yearbook.
The Peruvian resort has temporarily closed since Logan’s death. Peruvian police have launched an investigation into the incident.
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