Anusha GOLKO

What a sensational human being Anusha was. Elite as an artist, intelligent in many fields, insightful in wisdom in all aspects of life, shrewd in business and with a magnetic personality that could have complete strangers adoring her within five minutes! Anusha's remarkable life began in Sri Lanka, first in Colombo and then in Jaffna, where she spent many happy years in the family home on Brodie Lane. Although health challenges prevented a normal education, she soon became renowned for her advanced knowledge of literature, music and current events, her prodigious musical and artistic talent, and award winning cake making. Also legendary was her great love of animals, especially her dog Gino and her goat Maya, about whom she was full of stories even to the last years of her life. Coming to Canada, Anusha was inspired by her extended family (the Brodie clan) to make the most of the opportunities before her and poured herself into both education and extra curricular achievements. After serving on the student council of her major high school, she became the first student in 16 years from her school to gain entrance to the esteemed OCAD University - Canada's most prestigious art and design institution. It was impressive enough that she financed her education through multiple jobs and so much work while maintaining an active social life and befriending less fortunate people on the street, but she was not content to stop there. Anusha began working toward her Ph.D. at the University of Toronto, when tragically her eyesight began to fail. Although this ended her academic career, it did not stop her from working as a social worker, helping countless people find the help that no one else could give. In 2014 she met Greg Golko, who was most blessed to marry her two years later. In under six years of marriage she managed to convey a lifetime's worth of love and blessing. It seems to be that, just as phosphorus burns the brightest of all elements but is so quickly consumed, this tiny Sri Lankan Canadian dynamo expended multiple lifetimes worth of love, kindness and grace in one very short life span. We all feel she is gone from us much too soon, but we cherish the wonderful years she gave. While we wish Anusha could have stayed with us longer, yet we can understand why she did not hold on to her earthly life. All who know her know that Anusha's first love was Jesus Christ, from her early childhood and all her life. For her, Jesus was not a religion, He was a real person whom she had seen and spoken with, and He was the true love of her life. She had already experienced what was on the other side of death, and found it far more beautiful than anything she could find on earth. So while we grieve that we are unable to enjoy her down here, we rejoice that she has found great happiness in her eternal home, and look forward to joining her there when our earthly journey is complete.