December 18, 1965 ~ May 14, 2021
Bridget passed away quietly in Victoria BC with her loving husband Caner by her side. She was 55.
Born in New Westminster and raised in Vancouver, Bridget moved to Victoria to study law soon after completing her B.Sc. in Biopsychology (UBC) and M.B.A. in Human Resources/ Labour Relations (McMaster). Bridget was called to the Bar in 1997 and dedicated 25 years to public service as a non-practicing lawyer with the Province of British Columbia. Through her most recent role as a Director in the Ministry of Finance, Bridget’s expertise in Indigenous and consumer tax policy was met with unending perseverance, meticulous attention to detail and high quality results.
Bridget’s leadership also extended into community life. She served on various board positions, including President of the Turkish Canadian Friendship Society of Vancouver Island. She also served as Treasurer of the Oaklands Community Association. Bridget was one of a kind and one of the best board members and community members Oaklands was fortunate to call their own.
Bridget loved to travel, cook, read, and tend her garden. Her laughter and sense of adventure were infectious; and her cheesecakes were legendary. Bridget was passionate about music, movies, flowers, funny stories, tea, and good food. But above all, Bridget deeply loved her husband, family, friends and cats.
With a gentle and fun-loving spirit, Bridget possessed a strong sense of what’s good and what’s right. Nothing could have felt better or more right than her marriage to Caner in 2008. As a loving and caring daughter, she always knew what her parents needed even before they did. As a niece, she also cared for and held Aunt Marion dear to her heart. She was deeply loyal and generous to friends throughout her life. And she was the best cat-mom a cat could have.
Bridget’s curiosity and knowledge were extensive. Infinitely resourceful, Bridget knew where to get information and was a great planner when circumstances called upon her. Ever practical but driven by her love and devotion, Bridget crossed all the t’s and dotted all the i’s before she left this world. She will be remembered with love by all who knew her.
She is survived by husband Caner Budakoglu, parents Orest and Helene Minishka, Uncle Terry Chitrenia, Aunt Marion Brady and Cousin Crystal Brady. Predeceased by Mr. and Mrs. Luka Chitrenia (paternal grandparents), Mr. Walter Christensen and Mrs. June Wilson (maternal grandparents), and Mrs. Jennifer Eyvonne Sader (aunt).
A private Celebration of Life and green burial will be held May 21, 2021 at 1pm with an arbutus tree to be planted at a later date. Flowers may be sent to Royal Oak Burial Park prior to the service. Condolences may be sent to Pacific Coast Cremation & Green Burial. Donations may be directed to your local cat rescue and animal care societies.
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I have been so fortunate and blessed to have you in my life, get to know you, and spend some time with you. It has been an absolute privilege to call you as my wife. Thank you for brightening our lives with your presence.
Happy to see that you are finally pain free from that terrible disease.
I love you so much, my little chickadee and will forever miss you.
Rest in peace, my love.
My Beloved Niece , Always generous with your time helping and giving me advice when needed. Lots of laughs , cat chats and chocolate we shared. From Barbies to helping you ride a bike and sharing tears . I have loved you your whole life and now I will for the rest of mine . Thank you for being in my life ,it will never be the same.
My heart felt condolences to family and friends. My thoughts and prayers are with you all during this difficult time.
Bridget
We had the great gift of your friendship, support, and the joy you brought into our lives through your positivity and brilliance from being friend, mentor and colleague for over a decade with the Province of BC, to the Dragon’s Den rehearsal you hosted for us in your home.
We will miss you, Bridget
Rob & Anne
Dear Caner, Mr. & Mrs. Minishka, Aunt Marion and family and friends,
We are so deeply sorry for your loss. Bridget was such a special daughter, niece, wife, friend and cat mom.
We knew her for a long time as my sister Audrey’s Best Friend Bridge (or Budget as our Mom would pronounce). I remember the stories my sister would share of their fun adventures. Bridget brought so much love, joy and happiness through their friendship over the years. My heart is broken that she is no longer here, and the emptiness we all feel without her.
You are sooooo missed, Bridge!
Love,
Mer and Lou
Sevgili oğlum Caner, Bay ve Bayan Minishka, büyük kızım Bridget’in kaybı beni çok üzdü. Eski fotoğraflarımıza bakıp, anıları hatırlamak beni mutlu etti. Bugünleri yaşamak çoz zor olsa da, geçmişe bakıp güzel günlerimizi düşünmek bizleri rahatlatacak. Bridget’i çok özleyeceğim. Ruhu huzur içinde yatsın. Dualarım Bridget ile. Sizlere başsağlığı ve sabırlar diliyorum.
Hatice Budakoğlu
Sevgili Caner Abim, Bay-Bayan Minishka ve Bridget’in sevgili akraba ve arkadaşları, Bridget aramızdan ayrıldığı için çok üzgünüm. Bridget’in aramızdan bu kadar erken ayrılacağını kim bilebilirdi ki. Maalesef hayatta her şey belirsiz, kesin olan tek şey var: ölüm. Benim inancıma göre Kuran-ı Kerim de “Her nefis ölümü tadacaktır.” yazılı (Âl-i İmrân Suresi 185. Ayet). Yani ölüm sadece bir yerden bir yere geçmek için bir kapı. Umuyorum yine buluşacaksınız ve buluşacağız. Onu hep gülümseyişiyle hatırlayacağım ve özleyeceğim. Bridget, neşesiyle, gülümsemesiyle arkada bıraktığı yüreklerde yaşayacak. Sabırlar diliyorum. Dualarım Bridget ile sevgiler.
Aslıhan Budakoğlu
Sevgili caner abicim,bay-bayan Minishka ve Bridget’in sevgili akraba ve arkadaslari Bridget aramizdan ayrildigi icin cok uzgunuz annem ayten kalyoncu babam seyfettin kalyoncu esim selin kalyoncu ve ben erdal kalyoncu aramizdan erken ayrilmasinin uzuntusu icerisindeyiz geride kalanlara sabirlar diliyorun allaha emanet ol selamlar abicim.
Dear Bridget, Now you can run pain free in a beautiful heavenly field of all your favorite flowers. We will miss your beautiful smile and laugh.
Thank you for being our friend.
Rest in peace dear Bridget
Sending our love and sympathy to Caner, Helene and Orest.
Cathy and Roger
We are sorry we had only just met Bridget, and then she left. Our affection and sympathy to our friend Caner.
Susan and Marn
Sevgili Abi, Bay-Bayan Minishka, Bridget’in akraba ve arkadaşları, Bridget’in hastalığını ve vefatını derin bir üzüntüyle öğrendim. Hayatımızda anılar bıraktığın için teşekkür ederim. Enerjisini, güler yüzünü ve pozitif enerjisini daima hatırlayacağım. Mekanı cennet olsun. Tüm sevenlerine sabırlar diliyorum.
Cüneyt Budakoğlu
Caner Amcacım ve Bridget yengemin ailesi başımız sağolsun. Bridget yengemi çok seviyorum. Kanada’da onunla çok güzel vakitler geçirmiştim. Onun için burda bir ağaç dikeceğiz ve o büyüdükçe onu anacağız. Ona hep dua edeceğim.
Ömer Budakoğlu
I send my deepest condolences to Bridget’s family and friends.
I had the privilege of getting to know Bridget when I joined the Tax Policy Branch in 2014. In a world of introverts, Bridget’s warm, outgoing and compassionate personality stood out. She took time to regularly check in with everyone — particularly new people like me — to make sure they were doing well. When things got challenging, Bridget had a way of lightening the mood with her laughter and sense of humor.
Bridget’s passion for all things Turkey was also infectious and her insistence that I visit rubbed off on me, as my wife and I were able to travel there in 2019.
Rest in peace, Bridget.
Sevgili Caner,
Lutfen bassagligi dileklerimi kabul et.
Bridget ile Victoria’da yasadigim yilarda Turk dernegi vasitasi ile tanistim, birlikte cok guzel organizasyonlar planladik o yillarda. Canayakinligi, nezakati ve icten kahkahasi her zaman anilarimda kalacak.
Erken yasta vefati icin cok uzuldum. Geride kalanlara, sevdiklerine sabirlar dilerim.
Yasemin Turan (Edmonton)
When I think of Bridget, I hear her laughter and I see her smile. When I think of Bridget I think of her warm and open manner, her generosity, her interest in others, her brilliance, her knowledge and her willingness and ability to work through the most complex issues.
I met Bridget almost 19 years ago when I started work at the Ministry of Provincial Revenue. Bridget taught me many many things about sales taxes in those early years and I had the pleasure of working with her on numerous projects since then. Bridget was not only quick to share her knowledge, she shared Figs from her tree and grapes from her vines. She made the most delicious grape jelly and shared that as well. I came across a jar that I had squirrelled away just the other day and that made me smile.
I now work on the same floor as I did when I first met Bridget and the other day a flood of memories came back to me – like when she first told me about meeting Caner. Little did we know then what an amazing love they would share.
Caner, I am thankful Bridget had such an incredible partner in you. I am so very sorry for your loss. Bridget will be dearly missed.
Başın sağolsun abi mekanı cennet olsun yengemin vefatı derinden üzdü bizleri cenabı Allah sabırlar versin ya
Kardeşim başin sağolsun.esinin de mekani cennet olsun insallah.Allah sana sabir versin.selamlarimla..Bahattin Dağ
Arkadasim basin sagolsun, cok uzulduk. Bridget’i hep gulen yuzuyle hatirlayacagiz. Mekani cennet olsun insallah.
My sincerest condolences, thoughts & prayers are with you Caner. I am so sorry for your loss. You have been such a wonderful husband, friend, and companion to Bridget. You are a gentle man, and a gentleman. Attending your wedding in that enchanting Japanese garden in Victoria was a memorable day, and witnessing your love for each other over the years has shown me what true love can look like. You brought her joy beyond words.
Bridget was a beautiful and loving friend. Over the years she introduced me to so much of what made our exquisite Bridget so delightful… her delicious vegetarian dishes, her latest discovery of a new favourite tea, her famous fig jam (and her reduced sugar grape jam that she said she made just for me), her penchant for thoughtful gifts, and her gracious generosity with her time & assistance throughout our friendship.
I am remembering our many shared meals (especially the fish & chips), our numerous pedicure dates at the spa, her unforgettable laughter, the hilarious stories that made us peel with laughter, and her devoted loving attention for all of her cats. She was my “crazy cat lady” friend.
I will always be grateful for her inquisitive and insightful conversations, advice, questions, and wisdom. We were once discussing the importance of a person’s name when I was choosing my new name, and I recall that she was incredibly proud of her name… especially knowing it was not derived from a man’s name. Her intelligence and wit were always inspiring me to investigate things further, and to consider all the possibilities.
I was so thrilled that she celebrated her 50th birthday by visiting me in Tasmania, Australia! One of the highlights of our time together was the day we went to ‘Platypus House’ at Beauty Point. For the first time in her life she met and saw 3 platypus swimming and eating in their re-created “natural” wilderness environment. She told me the experience was fulfilling a wish she had since her childhood, having learned about the unique animal on a TV show. We also met 3 Tasmanian Echidna living in the centre, the biological “cousin” of the platypus. I must confess that now I have a passionate love and appreciation for these creatures because of my friend, Bridget.
So many special memories and adventures… Bridget was one of a kind!
Please express my sincerest condolences to Bridget’s parents, Orest & Helene, who may recall that Bridget convinced them to give my cat Fiona a loving home. Many stories have been told and re-told of Fiona the cat being very naughty… chasing mice through their lounge, catching birds in their garden, giving her collar with bells the slip, and over her kitty-cat’s “nine lives” generally causing regular chaos in their otherwise quiet lives. Most importantly, they gave both Fiona the cat and their daughter Bridget unconditional love and encouragement, and I will always be grateful.
My hope is that they might find some peace in knowing how much they were loved in return, and how much they meant to her. Bridget enjoyed her visits to Parksville, and there were always more hilarious stories to share.
I can honestly say that whenever I spent time with Bridget, it was like looking through a magical, brilliant kaleidoscope of vibrant, sparkling, jewel-toned colours that both mesmerised and soothed.
Thank you Bridget for being so authentically you.
The world is a better, kinder, fairer place because of you.
You will be missed my friend.
I would like to state that we are very sorry. Caner Brother, we know him as a sampatic, cheerful person with a smiling face, we loved him very much. Thanks
May God have mercy, I hope the place is heaven.
Çok üzüldüğümüzü belirtek isterim.Caner Kardeşim biz onu güleryüzlü talı dilli sampatik neşeli biri olarak tanıdık bizler onu çok sevmiştik.CENNET’in suyu ruhuna işlesin toprağı bol ruhu huzurlu olsun.Bu acı gününüzde yanınızda olmayı isterdik bedenimiz orda olmasa da kalbimizin sizinle olduğunu bilin.Başınız Sağolasın
ALLAH rahmet eylesin mekanı cennet olsun inşallah.
Sevgili Caner kardeşim,
Eşin Bridget hanımı kaybetmeni üzüntüyle öğrenmiş bulunmaktayız.
Benim ve ailemin duaları sizinle. Başın sağolsın. Cemil Dönmez
Sevgili Caner Bridget’in hastalığı ve aramızdan ayrılma haberini öğrendiğimizde çok üzüldük. Bizde yakınımızda oturan eniştemizi bu hastalıktan kaybettik, bu yüzden senin bu süreçte neler yaşadığını bir nebze anlayabiliyorum. Senin ve eşinin ailesinin başı sağolsun. Biz ona Bridget yerine Biricik demiştik. Allah rahmet eylesin, mekanı cennet olsun.
İbrahim&Hatice Aksu
Bridget, you will be greatly missed. I really enjoyed our time together at the Ministry and it was a pleasure working with you. You had a way of bringing positive energy into every situation, from serious meetings to social lunches and gatherings. You will be misse my friend.
Caner Abicim; sana, eşin Bridget Hanımın ailesine ve tüm sevenlerine başsağlığı diliyorum.
Bridget, you were an exemplary public servant. You made everyone else’s jobs, including mine, much easier, and much more enjoyable. Your knowledge, technical expertise and dedication were exceeded only by your calm, thoughtful and cheerful approach to both work and life. Yes, you were an exemplary public servant, but most importantly, you were a beautiful human being. You leave the world a better place for having visited. We all just wish you could have stayed longer. Your smile and that ever present glint in your eye will be very much missed. Thank you.
Dear Hostsister, Bridget, we love you. I will remember your smile forever.
Sevgili Caner,üzgün oldugumuzu belirtmek isterim.Onu tanıdığımız için çok mutlu olduk.Çok sevecen,candan ve güler yüzüyle bize bıraktığı anıları kalbimizde yaşatacagiz.Tüm içtenliklerimizle allahtan rahmet dileriz…
I will miss you, my host sister, Bridgest. I met you 23 year ago. God bless you.
Sevgili caner abiciğim Bridget Lisa Minishka vefatı benı derinden etkiledi güler yüzlü tatlı ablam onun yetiştirdiği çiceklere bakarak onu hep anacağım iyi insanlar ölemez herzaman kalbimizdeler tanrı günahlarını bağışlasın sabırlar diliyorum
To Bridget: You came to me as a gift in elementary school. Since then, you were my friend, my confidante, my mentor and supporter. I will never forget the fun times we had in high school and university and after finally completing our many years of studies. I will always remember and embrace the sage advice you gave me. You were often the only one who really understood what I needed to do to move forward.
I think, however, that what I will remember the most is your infectious laugh. I can still hear it when I think about you and see your bright smiling face. I will miss you but at least I know you are now pain free. Rest in peace, my dear friend.
To Caner, Helene & Orest: I still cannot believe Bridget is no longer with us. Please accept my heartfelt condolences. I’m sending you my love, positive thoughts and prayers. I’m here for you if you need anything.
Bridget,
I feel very lucky to have met, worked and learned so much from you. Years after we worked together you would pick me out of a crowd and ask how I and Jody and the kids were doing. A smile on your face and a laugh from you every time. I hope you knew how much I appreciated that. Caner, take care. I am very sorry for your loss. She really was a good hearted, wonderful human being. in every sense of that meaning.
Bridget and Caner have been the best friends of me and Jing for almost 20 years. We love Bridget, she was intelligent, warm-hearted, and lived a passionate life. We enjoyed our gatherings very much: we chatted on different things, played games; Bridget would share with us her favorite sweets as well as every happy moments in her life. She gave suggestions to us on our work and life. She sent us her fruits and hand-made jam every year. She was a true and trusted friend for everyone she knew. Today is a sad day for us. Our heart is full or sorrow. We will miss you Bridget so much. And we will be with you forever, no matter where you are.
Başta Caner Bey ve Bridget’in ailesi ve bütün sevenlerine başsağlığı dilerim. Bridget Türkiye’ye geldiğinde sempatikliği ve güleryüzlülüğü ile ilgimizi çekti, sevgimizi kazandı. Allah mekanını cennet etsin. Nur içinde yatsın.
Sevgili Caner, Bridget ile mutluluğunuza şahit olduk. Bu hüzünlü ayrılık bizi de üzdü. Kıymetli eşini güzel gülümsemesi ile hatırlayacağız. Size sabır ve metanet diliyoruz.
Caner,
I’m very sorry to hear of your loss. Although I’ve never had the privilege of knowing Bridget, I can empathize with your loss of a beloved partner to share life’s sorrows and joys. I hope you can take comfort from the wonderful and warm memories you have of Bridget and knowing that others still care for you.
My thoughts are with you. Take care of yourself, Caner.
Basiniz sağ olsun Allah sabirlar versin
Caner abi başta senin olmak üzere Bridget ablanın ailesinin başı sağolsun. Duyduğum ilk anda Değirmendere’de ilk karşılaştığımızda ki gülen yüzü aklıma geldi. Onu hep gülen yüzü ile hatırlatacağım. Allah sana ve ailesine sabırlar versin. Allah rahmet eylesin abi.
Hi Caner, really sorry for the loss of your wife. When we met few times, you have talked about your wife and she is dear to you and sweet. I am praying for you. Talk to sometime in the future.
Hi Caner. Thank you for inviting me to Bridget’s Celebration of Life. She was certainly full of life. We missed her the last couple years at work: her humour and her way of taking care of everyone. I hope I remember how to sterilize jars, dry bay leaves, prune grape vines, dismiss employees and all the other things she knew about. I will remember how nice it was to talk in your living room as the cats wandered in and out. Take care of yourself. Hope to see you soon, Duncan