Madison Deniro

Madison DeNiro, aged 56, died in her Vancouver apartment on Monday, June 28th, 2021 during the record-breaking heatwave that struck the Pacific Northwest of Canada and the United States.

Madison was born and grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan. She went to a Catholic grade school in Saskatchewan that had a large Indigenous population. She had great respect for the Indigenous people and culture through her friendships.

She spent part of her teen years living with her older sister. In 1987, Madison moved to Calgary, Alberta. In 1989, she moved to Vancouver, British Columbia. She studied film for 1.5 years before switching to a degree in Communications at Simon Fraser University. She also attended a scriptwriting class at the Vancouver Film School.

In her twenties and thirties, Madison volunteered at a number of festivals and events, including the Vancouver Comedy Festival and Vancouver Fringe Festival. Her passion was helping to raise puppies for the Pacific Assistance Dogs Society (PADS). She raised the following puppies between 2005 and 2014:

• PADS Chinook II
• PADS Nickelback
• PADS Penny
• PADS Beta
• PADS Quincy
• PADS Taz
• Advanced Sitter of PADS Taco

Even many years later, she still spoke with great affection about the dogs that she had raised, remembering their names and individual quirks.

Despite having dyslexia and struggling with spelling and grammar, Madison loved to read and write.

“I'm a voracious reader. I read my first adult novel when I was twelve. I read a lot of genre books. I like mysteries, science fiction, fantasy, and some horror. I have some dark need to read vampire books.” From Madison’s blog

Madison had wide-ranging interests including: film, screenwriting, novel writing, singing, Star Trek, Stargate, Highlander (the film and the series), vampires, dragons, brandy-filled chocolates, pagan celebrations, sushi, and Dungeons & Dragons, and other role-playing games (RPGs) like Firefly. She also was a long-time fan of Keith Richards, Robin Williams, Eddie Izzard, David Bowie, Prince, Tim Curry, the Muppets (Animal was her favourite), Peter Wingfield, and Tom Hiddleston.

Madison had six years of singing lessons as a kid. She loved to sing anytime, anywhere, often without realizing she was doing it. She sang in choirs at different times. She loved a wide range of music from Beethoven to the Rolling Stones with a lot of '80s New Wave and more recent New Romantic tunes. She parodied one '80s band as “Flock of Silly Haircuts”. Can you guess which band that was?

Madison attended a number of Star Trek conventions and charity events, and even developed real-life friendships with fellow attendees and some of the performers.

Madison had ongoing issues with her heart. She was also diagnosed with Essential Tremor, which is often confused with Parkinson’s Disease.

“Essential Tremor is a neurological disorder that causes involuntary and rhythmic shaking. The condition can affect almost any part of the body but is seen most often in the hands. It is the most common movement disorder, affecting 3% of the population in Canada.” Sunnybrook Research Institute

As her health declined, Madison was unable to continue raising PADS puppies. Always a practical stoic, she found other ways to help through raising awareness of the need for assistance dogs and the costs of raising and training them.

Madison’s world grew more limited physically, so she expanded her connections by spending more of her time online. She played a lot of games including RPGs, and interacted regularly with real-world and online friends.

She had a particular interest in and advocated for the rights of disabled people, including accessibility to buildings and making living spaces more adaptable to the needs of individuals. She also wanted to make gaming more accessible for people who have trouble using keyboards or standard game consoles and joysticks.

Madison had rejected her Catholic upbringing and chose to follow Pagan traditions, celebrating Solstice, Imbolc, and other significant annual events. She even found a registered Scottish Pagan tartan and was having a plaid shawl made by a friend. Sadly, she did not live to wear it.

Madison was a complex, intelligent, funny, warm, and giving woman. She was fiercely independent and guarded her heart, but gave herself fully to the people she loved and trusted.

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