Being a mom 'greatest joy' for slain Sask. woman: family

It’s a family’s worst nightmare – losing someone before their time, through an act of violence.

Abbie Speir, 33, was killed in a home in Yellow Grass, west of Weyburn, last week.

A man who also lived in the home, 37-year-old Kevin Okafor, was arrested near Swift Current.

He’s been charged with first-degree murder, in addition to fleeing police and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.  

But Speir’s family wants to remember her for the life she lived, not the way she died.

Her twin sister, Leah Perrault, shared an obituary on Facebook, which painted a picture of Speir’s life:

With broken hearts, our family shares that Abbie Diana Speir was taken from us at her home in Yellow Grass on April 20, 2017 at the age of 33. Abbie was born at Royal University Hospital on September 29, 1983. She spent her school years in Elrose, loving her friends and getting good enough grades to maintain her social calendar. Piano, volleyball, 4-H, and figure skating filled her hours and surrounded her with a community of people in both Elrose and Kyle who loved her fierce determination, strong opinions, and huge heart.

She studied Business at DeVry Institute in Calgary, where she prepared for her career in finance and health care and found her love of big hair, big fashion, and big shoes. In 2004, she married and her son Coby was born in 2007. Their family resided outside Kindersley and then Dundurn, before Abbie and Coby moved to Saskatoon. She fell in love again, with her usual intensity, and spent time in Calgary before returning to Saskatoon for the birth of her daughter, Eris, in 2014, followed closely by the birth of Eve in 2015. In 2015, their family made their home in Yellow Grass, where Abbie and the kids quickly became a part of the community. Her work with the Saskatoon and the Sun Country Health Regions drew on her strong work ethic and was just one area of her life in which she quickly and easily built deep and lasting friendships.

Motherhood was Abbie’s greatest joy; she played like a child, took the kids on grand adventures, and insisted on hard work and good manners all the time. In her personal and professional life, Abbie brought a small-town love of people, deep loyalty, and unapologetic honesty with a sarcastic sense of humour. She was intense and strong, and everyone loved her for it.