Shanna Desmond remembered as hopeful, resolute as second funeral is held
ANTIGONISH, N.S. — What most people remember about Shanna Desmond was her ever-present, winning smile and the optimism it reflected.
But behind that smile was a steely sense of determination that made the 31-year-old woman an admired figure in Upper Big Tracadie, N.S., the village where she lived with her husband Lionel and their 10-year-old daughter Aaliyah before a horrific murder-suicide.
Shanna and Aaliyah Desmond were to be laid to rest at a private funeral Thursday in nearby Tracadie, a day after a funeral for her mother-in-law Brenda Desmond as well as Lionel, who police say killed them all and then himself.
Shanna Ralene Desmond was born in Ontario, but her family moved back to their ancestral homeland in northeastern Nova Scotia when she was in high school. Soon afterwards, she met Lionel Desmond, the young man who would later join the Canadian army and become her husband.