The Royal City Centre Safeway has opened a trust fund for the family of employee Gemma Snowball who died in hospital Wednesday night after she was struck by a vehicle March 11.
Co-workers of the 25-year-old New Westminster resident, who moved to the city from Australia, say she was an energetic, cheerful and fun-loving girl.
Sue Lawson, deli manager at Safeway and Snowball's supervisor, remembers interviewing her for a position at the deli.
An employee had quit because she was a vegetarian and couldn't handle the dead chickens, Lawson recalls. She asked Snowball if she was a vegetarian, and Snowball replied with gusto: "No! I eat beef!"
"She knew everybody in the store. She talked to everybody," Lawson said. "She was wonderful."
Snowball worked at the deli counter at Safeway for five-and-a-half months. She was walking home from work Monday night, when she was hit by a vehicle making a turn at Sixth Street and Sixth Avenue. When co-workers were notified about the accident, they went to Royal Columbian Hospital to visit her. Snowball never regained consciousness.
One of Lawson's favourite memories of Snowball involves a roll of fancy pink duct tape Lawson had at work. She remembers coming in one day and someone had used the duct tape to repair a leaky sink. When she asked who it was, Snowball replied that it was her. Lawson went out later that day and bought Snowball her own roll.
Co-worker Ivana Brkic said it was obvious she came from a sunny place as she was "a ray of sunshine all on her own."
Snowball was the first person Jacomina Kilburn met when she started her job at the deli counter.
"I got such a great energy from her," she said. "(She) was so cute, bubbly and from that day forward, when I first met her, I couldn't wait to come back to work."
Lawson couldn't agree more. "She loved life," Lawson said. "She lived life to the fullest."
And in a way, her life will continue. Snowball's organs were donated to 13 different people.
The trust fund is at Westminster Savings' New Westminster location. Donations can be made directly to the bank, account number 449214601, or they can be dropped off at Safeway.
