'I wish my mom was here' : Community pulls together to support Susie Schule on her 45th birthday

Friends and family gathered on Oct. 18 to celebrate Susie Schule'sbirthday at the women's centre in Happy Valley-Goose Bay after what has been a tough few months.

In July, Susie's mother Regula Schule died in a fire at her home in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police called the fire suspicious, but did not say at the time whether they treated the 88-year-old woman's sudden death as a homicide.

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In September,the RCMP charged 30-year-old Jonathan Henoche with second-degree murder in the death of Regula Schule.

Missed mom on birthday

Thinking about her all day, Susie wished her mother could have been present at her birthday party.

"I really miss my mom very much because my mom was a special person," she said, speaking to CBC's Labrador Morning for the first time since Regula Schule's death.

"It's very hard for me not seeing my mom here because I always think about my mom. The way she used to look after me and take me to birthday parties and Burger King and to anything. I can't do that anymore."

Regula Schule, who came to Labrador as a Swiss missionary in the late 1960s, adopted Susie who was born prematurely with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

We want her to know that she has a lot of support.- Wendy Secord

She was a student of Regula's, who taught special education at the school in North West River.

Susie stole Regula's heart when the little girl looked up into Regula's face while was she helping Susie with her coat, and told her that she was pretty.

Mother's death a shock

Asking people to gather around her at the women's centre, Susie talked about the shock of her mother's death. She described what she saw after being woken up by the fire alarm on the morning of July 24th.

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"I went into my mom's room and her bed was on fire. And then I went to the kitchen and I saw my mom lying on the floor and she didn't move or anything."

She said the phone in her mother's room wasn't working when she tried to call for help.

"Then I went outside to get help, 'help, help, my mom is dying'," she said.

Susie recalled how firefighters put the fire out in Regula's bedroom, and finding it difficult to breathe, how she had to go outside without her leg braces and shoes on.

When the ambulance arrived, Susie found outher mother was already dead.

After that, she spent a number of days at the hospital in Happy Valley-Goose Bay before moving into a new home, an assisted living arrangement supported by Labrador-Grenfell Health.

'She has a lot of support'

Wendy Secord, executive director of the Mokami Status of Women Council, said they organised the birthday party to show Susie that people in the community are thinking of her.

"It's not out of our mind, the tragedy that she's gone through and the community's gone through," said Secord.

"It's still fresh in our minds. But moving forward, we want her to know that she has a lot of support."

Harriet Barbour, Susie Schule's younger sister, also originally from Nain and now living in Nova Scotia, surprised her sister by coming to Labrador for the birthday party.

Barbour said it meant a lot for her to be with Susie, reassuring her sister that mom was watching over her during her birthday.

"I wouldn't know what to do if I didn't come. She's part of my family and I love being with my sister a lot because family comes first," Barbour said.

Party thrown by women's council

Meanwhile, Gwen Watts, the social worker at the Mokami Status of Women Council, said it was heartwarming to know Susie was surrounded by supportive people on a day that was initially difficult for her.

"For all of us, the first birthday without a loved one anymore is hard. We wanted to make sure she knew that there are lots of people in the community who care for her."

Susie smiled at Watts from across the room after noticing a picture of Regula Schule on a bookshelf at the women's centre

"She's happy to see her mom here. It gives me such a warm feeling knowing that Susie can have this day," Watts said.

Susie enthusiastically read out birthday card greetings and opened gifts in an atmosphere radiating warmth and empathy.

"If I didn't have this birthday party, I wouldn't be happy," Susie said. "Thank you guys for inviting me, I love it!"

Everyone sang happy birthday to Susie, and after blowing out candles on a cake made especially for her, Susie asked, "Can I say my wish out loud?"

"I wish my mom was here," she said.

30-year-old Jonathan Henocheis due back in provincial court in Happy Valley-Goose Bay on January 10th.

Henoche is also facing charges in connection to another house fire in the community.

Police allege Henoche started a fire that destroyed the home of John Neville, a supportive housing worker he knew, in May.