Emily May Henderson

Our beautiful Em left this world on July 5th, 2024 just hours shy of her 49th birthday, surrounded by her family. Em was strong, graceful and kind throughout her battle with cancer and up until the very end. Em leaves behind her partner Dustin, her dad Bill, her step mom Sara, her mom Kimi (Simon), her sisters Megan (Joe) and Chelsea (Rob), her parents-in-law Jeffrey and Sarala, step siblings Darlene (Andrew), Bev (Ron), Jamie (Sandy) and her nieces and nephews Jacob, Sara, Cole, Sydney, Lucas, Liam, Ben, Fin, Jonah, Jill, Oli, Mason, Olivia, Dakota and Tahmoh. She leaves behind countless dear friends, co-workers, employees, and extended family.

Em was born on Salt Spring Island. She was the oldest of 3 sisters and mastered the role of protective older sister as she mastered all of the challenges in life- with grace, care, curiosity, humour and love. At age 7, Em moved to Terrace with her dad and sisters. 1 month every summer and alternating Christmases and spring breaks were spent on Salt Spring. From an early age Em showed that she was eager to learn, walking at 8 months old and curiously testing the boundaries of her surroundings (eg: rolling the car out of the driveway at 4 years old while pretending to drive). Em always excelled at school and in every endeavour she pursued. She was musically inclined, playing piano in elementary school and having a wide range of musical interests as displayed through posters on her bedroom wall. Em loved to draw and spent countless hours lying on the floor drawing rainbows and houses with her sisters and later taking recreational drawing classes. After high school, Em studied Latin American Studies and film at SFU. Her studies took her to Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Cuba. She spoke Spanish fluently. Having picked up the travel bug, Em met up with close family friends in Tahiti to join them on the sailing trip they had started from Salt Spring to New Zealand. She learned how to sail and became a valuable crew member. She spent several months in New Zealand upon completing the sailing trip. She went on to travel to South East Asia, Bali, lived in Australia and later travelled to Spain twice. She travelled to Mexico several times. Em had a lifelong appreciation for food, wine and cooking. After settling in Victoria after travelling, she worked at a few restaurants and ended up managing and then co owning the Tapa Bar. She became passionate about Spanish food, wine and sherry and had the opportunity to open a sister restaurant to The Tapa Bar, Bodega. This gave Em the opportunity to explore more traditional Spanish cuisine. She later opened another restaurant, Poco. We joked that she was starting an Em-pire. Em's staff and coworkers were her family. She operated her businesses with diligent care, kindness and love.

Never one to stop learning, she continued with educating herself on wine and anything Spain related- food, history, language and geography. Em could host an impromptu dinner party like no other and she could turn any random ingredients into a beautiful meal. Em met her match, Dustin in 2015 and they later moved in together. They had a beautiful and caring relationship, always laughing. Dustin has become a brother to her sisters and a son to her parents. Dustin and Em shared many wonderful and difficult times together, always remaining affectionate and caring towards each other. When Em became weak from her illness, every time Dustin helped her stand up, it always came with a dance and a kiss.

Em cared deeply about people and their stories. She had the ability to listen wholeheartedly and make you feel heard and considered. She was generous with her time and energy, always making you feel like your problems were worth figuring out. She made you feel like you weren't alone in sadness or stressful times. She remembered details about people that most of us would forget. It's not a stretch to say that Em had a lasting impact on everyone she met.

Em will be missed immensely. Her place in our lives and hearts will never be filled. We will carry on her legacy of kindness and grace and look for her in the faces of those who need to be listened to, in the times we share good food with loved ones, and in the beauty she had the ability of finding in every situation.

A celebration of life will be at the Esquimalt Gorge Pavilion on Monday, September 9th 2024 at 4pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Victoria Hospice Society.